


Nurse Kelly

by Kalina_Malia



Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-16
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-02-03 07:28:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 49,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12743787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalina_Malia/pseuds/Kalina_Malia
Summary: Shannon Kelly, a recent graduate from San Jose State University, is excited to start her new job - her dream job - at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. Trying to find her place in the social order of the hospital staff, she befriends some of the new resident doctors. One of them in particular, Dr. Claire Browne, takes her under her wing. Claire quickly notices that Shannon seems to have a special connection with another brilliant young newcomer, Dr. Shaun Murphy.**Note: This story is currently rated T for mild language but the rating may go up in future chapters.**





	1. Here goes nothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **“The only way that we can live, is if we grow. The only way that we can grow is if we change. The only way that we can change is if we learn. The only way we can learn is if we are exposed. And the only way that we can become exposed is if we throw ourselves out into the open. Do it. Throw yourself.” – C. JoyBell C.**

As if her internal clock knows how excited she is to start her new job, Shannon wakes up about 10 minutes before her alarm with a sigh and a smile. She hits the snooze button ‘just because’ and rolls over, pulling her blankets up under her chin.

Just then, she hears her two rascals come running in from down the hallway like a herd of elephants at 5:32am. Chloe and Cassie, her two fluffy rescues, jump onto the bed yowling and pawing at her to feed them. Shannon giggles to herself, thinking _I wouldn’t be able to snooze even if I wanted to_. “Alright, alright… I’m up girls…”

She grabs her phone, turns off the alarm, and stretches before getting out of bed. “Alexa, play my morning playlist on Spotify,” she yells at the device, walking out towards the kitchen. It responds and her tunes start to play. She feeds the cats, who haven’t let her take an unencumbered step since she got out of bed. Shannon giggles at them as she starts to make herself a cup of tea.

Throughout her morning routine she can’t help but smile. Feeling blessed for the opportunity to start her dream job so soon after graduating, Shannon stands in the mirror, admiring her new scrubs with the St. Bonaventure logo on them, and proudly places her newly-minted name badge on. Today is her first day as “Shannon Kelly, RN”. _Here goes nothing,_ she thinks before turning to leave.

About a half-hour later, she arrives at the employee entrance to the hospital, but still unsure of where to go, she stops the first person she sees.

“Hello! Hey!” she kindly shouts to get their attention.

A young woman with curly brown hair turns around, “Yes?”

“Hi there, I’m new here. I’m supposed to report to Nurse Fryday… Could you tell me where she is?”

“Sure thing, I’m Dr. Claire Browne, by the way… nice to meet you…?”

“Oh! I’m Shannon Kelly… _Nurse_ Shannon Kelly!” she says a little awkwardly.

“Nice to meet you Shannon,” she says with a smile. “Last I saw, Nurse Fryday was near the Nurses’ Station, down this hallway and to the left,” Claire finished, pointing directions.

“Thank you Dr. Browne,” says Shannon, before moving on down the hallway.

Finding the Nurses’ Station easily, Shannon excitedly greets the other nurses and meets with Nurse Fryday. She can tell that some of them don’t appreciate her over-enthusiastic greetings and bubbly personality at 6:50am.

“Hello Nurse Fryday, I’m Shannon Kelly,” she says, reaching a hand out.

Nurse Fryday takes her hand and in an all-business tone, she says, “Hello. Tell me, have you clocked in yet?”

“Ah, no. I was supposed to take a tour last week when I came to do my paperwork and orientation, but the other nurse got busy.”

“Well, I’ll show you to the locker rooms and where to clock in. The rest of it you’ll have to learn as you go,” Nurse Fryday says, and turns to walk with a head nod encouraging Shannon to follow.

Just around the corner, they step into the employee locker room. Nurse Fryday says, “You’ll have to purchase a lock for your locker, but for today find an empty one and let me know which one it is. Over here is the timeclock,” she continues, pointing. “Swipe your badge and it will do the rest. You’re on for a 12-hour shift today, so put your stuff away so we can get started. Find a locker, clock in, and meet me back at the Nurses’ Station. Don’t drag your feet.” With that, she leaves back out the door.

Shannon smiles in the affirmative and quickly finds a locker without anything in it. She puts her lunch bag, jacket, keys and purse, and water bottle away in the locker, and closes it. She quickly swipes her badge and heads for the door.

Seeing Shannon walk up to the station, Nurse Fryday gives the congregated nurses their orders for the day. “Alright ladies, Nurse Kelly is with me today, and I’ll be with Melendez.”

“Grab a tablet and let’s go. He doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

Shannon nods and quickly grabs a tablet out of the charging station behind the desk. She powers it on and logs in using her User ID and password that was given to her at orientation as she walks with Nurse Fryday to see their first patient.

“Good morning Nurse Fryday, glad to have you join us,” a handsome doctor says in a sarcastic voice. Shannon shyly smiles at him, noticing the sarcasm immediately.

“Yes, sorry we’re behind, I have a new hire with me today,” Nurse Fryday says, and then turns towards me. “This is Nurse Shannon Kelly. Nurse Kelly, this is our surgical Attending, Dr. Neil Melendez, and his residents, Dr. Claire Browne and Dr. Jared Kalu.”

Shannon smiles at all of them as she is introduced, glad to see a familiar face and a kind smile from Dr. Browne. “I’m glad to be here!” she says, a little too excitedly.

Claire gives her a kind smile, as she can tell that Shannon was nervous.

“Alright, enough of that… Who’s up first... Claire?” Dr. Melendez shoots.

“Yes. The patient in this room is a 27-year-old recovering from an emergency subtotal hysterectomy performed last night. She had an ovarian torsion that had gone unchecked and they were unable to save the uterus.”

“Why did it go unchecked?” Dr. Melendez asks.

“It says here that she had been having pain for a few weeks, but as a sufferer of polycystic ovarian syndrome she was accustomed to ovarian pain, and thought it was just period symptoms. It also says here that she doesn’t have health insurance…” Claire offers, looking up at Dr. Melendez, and then over to Nurse Fryday with a more tender look.

“Shame. Alright, Claire, follow up with her. Take the Nurses and have them get follow-up tests done. Kalu, you’re with me,” Dr. Melendez orders as he and Dr. Kalu walk towards the next room.

Claire turns toward the room and walks through the open door with Nurse Fryday and Shannon in tow.

“Hello, I’m Dr. Claire Brown and this is Nurse Fryday and Nurse Kelly. How are you feeling?”

Nurse Fryday walks over to the IV machine and checks the tubes and the readout. Shannon follows, just observing for now, glancing back and forth between Claire and the patient’s chart on her tablet.

“Alright, I guess…” the patient says a little groggily, and a little sad.

“Yes, I can understand that,” Claire replies. “Do you have any nausea? How’s your pain?”

“No, no nausea. It’s about a 7.”

“Alright, let’s get you some more morphine.”

“Looks like she’s maxed out, Dr. Browne,” says Nurse Fryday, looking at the chart, and the machine.

“Okay then, let’s take a look at that incision then,” Claire says, putting down her tablet and grabbing some gloves off the wall behind the bed.

Shannon watches as Claire pulls down the blankets and gently lifts up the patient’s gown. “It looks good,” says Claire. She continues her exam, palpating the region gently, feeling the temperature of the area with the back of her hand.

Shannon takes in the rest of the patient. Her eyes are tear-stained, and didn’t seem to have any family around, and it looks like she is a little malnourished. This poor young woman just lost her ability to have natural children and it doesn't look like she is in a good place. Shannon’s heart goes out to her. Curious, Shannon looks at her arms for track marks, but doesn’t see any. However, her eyes are drawn to the IV site, now uncovered by the blanket.

“She’s not getting her morphine… look at her hand. The IV site is swollen and bruised,” Shannon says.

Nurse Fryday sighs, and turns off the machine. “Kelly, get me a kit from the cart in the hallway,” she says, reaching in her pocket and handing Shannon a set of keys. She walks out into the hallway to get a fresh IV kit.

“We’ll get you fixed up quick and you’ll be feeling better in no time,” offers Claire as she covers the patient back up, and assists Nurse Fryday moving the tubes and IV lines across to the other side of the bed.

Nurse Fryday removes the IV from the site on the patient’s right hand, and has moved around the other side of the bed by the time Shannon returns. “Alright Kelly, get her the new IV and I’ll get this side cleaned up and taken care of.”

“Yes, also, let’s do a full blood count and a renal profile, and also a urinalysis,” Claire says, speaking to the nurses. Looking back to the patient, she says, “Alright then, let the ladies do their job here, and I’ll come back to check on you in a few hours.”

With that, Claire leaves the room and Shannon focuses on getting the IV in. “I’m sorry this might pinch quite a bit… but let’s get you feeling better.”

Nurse Fryday removes the other IV and cleans up the site. She gets an ice pack and places it on the swollen hand. “That should heal up soon, just keep the ice pack on for about 15 minutes. Nurse Kelly, report back to the Nurses’ Station once you get those tests drawn up.”

Shannon nods, and gets the IV in as quickly and painlessly as possible. “Alright, let me get take your blood real quick. These shouldn’t hurt as much as the IV.” The patient lays there quietly, sadly. Shannon doesn’t know what to say to this woman - she can’t imagine having such an emergency and losing so much in such a short time.

Shannon gets the two vials of blood easily. “There we go, no more poking you for now,” she says, giving a small smile to the patient, not much older than herself. She also collects some urine from the catheter bag at the end of the bed. Shannon checks the IV site again, and the IV machine before turning to walk away.

Before she leaves, Shannon places a hand on the patient’s foot, and kindly smiles at her. “Is there anything I can do for you for now? Anyone I can call?”

“No, nobody to call. Can I have some water?”

“Sure. I’ll get some ice water for you.”

Shannon walks out the door and heads for the Nurses’ Station with the bio samples. “Nurse Fryday, where is the lab drop-off?”

“You’re going to have to take them down yourself. Here, I’ll show you.”

Shannon asks a Nursing Assistant to get the patient some water. Nurse Fryday leads her downstairs to the lab and gives her short tour of the things that are on the way. The Lab, the Pharmacy, and Laundry are all downstairs on the first floor. She meets the lab techs and heads back up to the inpatient floor.

\---

The morning moves along rather quickly, with her and Nurse Fryday following around Dr. Melendez and his residents checking in on those in the inpatient ward. There are two surgeries planned for the afternoon, but Shannon wouldn’t be a part of them. Before she knew it, it was time for her lunch hour.

She finds her way down to the cafeteria, and sits at an empty table. She had packed her lunch that day, and digs in to enjoy her tuna salad sandwich when Claire walks over.

“May I sit here?” Claire asks.

“Sure Dr. Browne!” Shannon says with an excited smile.

“Call me Claire, please,” she replies with a small laugh.

“Yes, of course. Sorry… Still getting used to this!”

“Yeah, Nurse Fryday said you’re a newly-minted RN, congratulations!” Claire says with a smile.

“Yes! I graduated about two weeks ago from San Jose State! I’ve worked as a Nursing Assistant throughout school, so it’s so exciting to finally be here!”

“I felt the same way in my first week as a resident here. I could hardly believe it!” Claire gushes.

“Thanks for being so kind. I’ve heard horror stories from my friends about their first weeks out of school… Residents and Nurses don’t get along well, I’m told,” says Shannon, taking another bite of her sandwich.

“Well, I’m glad that I break the mold,” Claire offers with a smile.

Overhead, a voice comes over the loudspeaker, “Doctor Browne to the ER, Doctor Browne to the ER”.

“Damn,” Claire curses under her breath. “Sorry I can’t stay to chat, I gotta go.” Stuffing the last bites of food in her mouth, Claire offers a smile to Shannon before getting up to leave.

“It’s alright, I’ll see you around!”

Shannon finishes her lunch and heads back up to the inpatient ward to find Nurse Fryday. She only gets lost for a moment before reorienting herself. Shannon smiles to herself, proud of herself having made a friend and already getting used to the layout of the large hospital.

“Alright, you’re headed down to the ER for our second half of the shift. Go downstairs and ask for Nurse Smith,” Nurse Fryday says as Shannon walks up to the inpatient ward Nurses’ Station.

“Alright, thank you.” With that, Shannon heads down a floor to the ER (with Nurse Fryday’s directions) and finds the Nurses’ Station without an issue. “Hello, I’m Nurse Kelly, I’m supposed to find Nurse Smith...?” she asks one of the nurses seated there.

“That’s me honey, thanks for coming down,” an older nurse walks over to her, a wide smile on her face. “Looks like you’ll be splitting your shifts between inpatient and ER for the time being. Let’s get started!”

Nurse Smith gives her a quick tour of the ER, and asks Shannon a few questions about herself, and also sharing with Shannon that she has two young boys. _At least I can have a conversation with her!_ Shannon thinks to herself, happy to get to know her coworkers.

“And that’s all of the tour I’m going to give you for now, so go ahead and get gloved up and check on beds three and four,” Nurse Smith says to Shannon. “I’m not going to hold your hand today and I believe the best way to get started is to just jump in and do it! Any questions, feel free to ask.”

Shannon smiles and nods at Nurse Smith, excited to get started. “Will do!” Finally ready to get out from under the teachers and trainers that she’s been proving herself to over the past few years, she excitedly grabs a med cart and heads over to bed three. 

Bed Three is a 12-year-old girl who has a possible broken ankle from a skateboarding accident, waiting on someone from imaging to come and get her for an X-Ray. Not much to do there other than to offer kind words to the parents, check on the pain levels of the patient - “Tylenol is all that we can do for now until we get the results back, I will have them paged again to come and pick you up.”

Bed Four is a 67-year-old male, homeless, and drunk. The police brought him in. According to his chart, it seems like he’s a regular. Shannon gives him a banana bag to sober him up and get him on his way.

Just as Shannon’s finishing up with the flirtatious older gentleman, she steps out into the hallway and hears the phone ring - a call coming in. One of the other nurses takes the call and Nurse Smith waits for the call to end. “8-year-old male, tube thoracotomy done in the field for pneumothorax. Undetermined internal injuries, ETA 3 minutes," the nurse shouts for the staff to hear.

“Alright, you’re up Kelly! Glove up, you’re with me for the catch!” Nurse Smith calls across the desk to Shannon. “We’re headed to Trauma Three! Someone grab a surgeon! Melendez and crew are in OR Two!” she calls to the other nurses.

All-business now, Shannon puts her tablet down behind the desk, and runs to the side of the station and grabs her stethoscope and puts on gloves. She jogs with Nurse Smith to the door just as the ambulance nears.

Moments later, Claire comes running by too, “Trauma Three is ready to receive, Dr. Browne!” offers Nurse Smith. The three of them go out to meet with the medics.  
  
“Eight-year-old healthy boy, post-encounter with a shattered glass sign. Numerous lacerations,” states the paramedic.

A young man running behind the medic breathedly states, “Echo!”

Ignoring him, Claire tells the medics and nurses, “Get him set up in Trauma Three with an EKG, full blood work, and a pan-scan!”

Shannon runs along with Nurse Smith, repeating the instructions and information in her mind as she goes. _Eight-year-old male, shattered glass sign, lacerations, Echo, EKG, full workup, pan-scan…_ Shannon thinks to herself.

Timidly, the unfamiliar man repeats himself, “Echo... we need an echocardiogram!”

“Who is this guy?” Claire asks, pausing.

“He helped with first aid at the airport,” replies the medic, unable to stop for long as Shannon, Nurse Smith, and the two medics continue on towards the ER.

“Alright Kelly, call up to imaging and get those tests ordered!” Nurse Smith orders Shannon.

“Do we order the Echo, too?” Shannon asks.

“Did Dr. Browne say we needed one?” Nurse Smith replies.

“No. A pan-scan it is, then!” Shannon replies, running off to the Nurses’ Station. “EKG to Trauma Three!” she shouts at the other nurses as she arrives back at the Nurses’ Station. She picks up the phone and speaks urgently, “I need imaging to come get patient in Trauma Three for a pan-scan. Eight-year-old male with undetermined internal injuries.” She pauses to receive a reply. “Yes, quickly, thank you!” Shannon hangs up the phone and returns to Trauma Three where she sees that Claire has arrived.

“Alright, I need that EKG stat, let’s get him some morphine, saline, and I want that blood work STAT. I’ll contact Dr. Melendez and let him know to schedule another OR,” Claire states to the room before turning to leave. “Oh, and _don’t mess with that bottle_!” she finishes, before jogging over to the Nurses’ Station to use the phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm new to AO3 as an author so I hope you enjoy my work. I've got a few chapters ready to go but I'm interested to see your thoughts about them. Leave a comment or Kudos if you want to see more! Thanks! :)


	2. Curiouser and curiouser

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently.” – Maya Angelou**

After the EKG was done and the bloodwork was down to the lab, Shannon started to come down from her adrenaline rush. She smiles to herself, blessed to be helping and glad that it looked like the young boy has a decent prognosis being in serious but stable condition, and that he is heading into surgery just now.

“Nice job Nurse Kelly. Gotta stay quick on your feet,” Nurse Smith offers with a squeeze on the shoulder.

“Thanks Nurse Smith,” she replies with a smile.

“You can call me Mary.” Nurse Smith’s kind smile makes the compliment that much better. She continues, “Melendez is an amazing surgeon. Why don’t you go take a breather. Be back in 10.”

“I will, thank you.” With that, Shannon heads towards the main entrance to the hospital. She laughs to herself, _I don’t think Nurse Fryday would ever ask me to call her by her first name!_ … _I really do need some fresh air_ , she thinks. As she heads towards the patient’s entrance, she notices it’s raining. _Damn weather._

Shannon heads outside and sits down on a bench under the awning so she doesn’t get wet. She takes a deep breath, and pulls her phone from her pocket, about to send a quick text to tell her ex-roommate and best friend Alysha how her day is going. As she begins to type, she hears a commotion over by the doors.

Shannon witnesses the young man who was asking for the echo wandering back and forth in front of the revolving doors, his hands clasped in front of him. Her interest peaked, she ignores the text she was about to type out.

The young man must have decided to go for it, because he straightens up and confidently heads for the doors, only to be stopped halfway through by a security guard.

 _That’s odd…_ Shannon thinks. _The poor guy, soaking wet from the rain, probably just wants to come in… not sure if this hospital has too much of a homeless problem… He doesn’t look homeless, really anyway…_ she muses.

The young man awkwardly backs out of the revolving doors, his hands clasped, and a frustrated look on his face.

The security guard waves at the young man, and the young man grabs his head to rub his hair and runs past Shannon on the bench.

She continues watching him run towards the side of the building until she loses her line of sight on him. _Very odd. Poor guy._

Shannon resumes texting Alysha; “I already made a friend!” she sends. She goes to get up to head back in, her head now clear thanks to the fresh air. Her phone buzzes in her hand. “Is he a hot doctor? Does he have more hot doctor friends?” is the reply. Shannon laughs out loud and puts the phone back in her pocket, and returns to the ER Nurses’ Station.

“Hello ladies! How are we this rainy NorCal afternoon!?” Asks an older man in a suit as she walks up. Shannon giggles to herself, never having heard an older man use the word ‘NorCal’.

The nurses smile and murmur replies, _Ah, they must like him…_ Shannon thinks.

“Dr. Glassman, meet our newbie, Nurse Shannon Kelly!” shares Nurse Smith.

Shannon awkwardly curtseys, startled by the name - realizing it as the president of the hospital. She reaches her hand out. “Hello, I’m Shannon Kelly.”

Dr. Glassman shakes her hand. “Ah yes, Nurse Fryday was telling me about you! You’re rotating ER and Inpatient. Very good.” He smiles at her, and turns back to the rest of the nurses. “I’m looking for one of the new residents. Dr. Shaun Murphy? Has anyone seen him?”

“No sir,” is the reply from Nurse Smith. The rest of the nurses look at each other and back to Dr. Glassman, shaking their heads.

“Ah, alright. Let me know if any of you see him, would you?” he replies, slapping his hands gently palms-down on the countertop.

“Yes sir!” Nods come from the nurses.

“Nice meeting you Nurse Kelly,” Dr. Glassman offers with a nod as he backs away.

“You too, sir!” Shannon replies.

“Alright, back to work Kelly! Go check on Bed Four - he liked you,” Nurse Smith orders with a smirk. The other nurses giggle to each other.

Shannon laughs along, _Sure he does…_ she thinks to herself. Shannon grabs her tablet from behind the desk. She heads out to check on her patient in Bed Four, hoping that he’s sobered up by now and she can send him on his way.

“Hello there, I’m here to check on you. How are you feeling,” she asks the older man.

“Well, I don’t know, the same… How are _you_ feeling?” he replies.

“You aren’t feeling any better?” Shannon asks again, ignoring the last half of his statement as she checks the drip machine with the banana bag being empty. “Sir, do you have any history of diabetes?” She asks.

“Well yeah, but that don’t matter none, not really.”

“It matters a lot! Do you mind if I check your feet?” Shannon asks gently.

“No, that’s not necessary,” he replies, a little more defensive now.

This is concerning. Not only did this man not share that he had a history of diabetes, but also that he doesn’t want to allow her to look at his feet. “Very well, I’ll be right back,” Shannon says before leaving behind the curtain.

Walking up to Nurse Smith, she says respectfully, “Nurse Smith, I think I need some assistance with Bed Four.”

“What’s the matter? He should finish that banana bag and be on his way. You should know protocol Kelly.”

“Yes, I know that, but I think he may have more serious issues. He’s not responding or sobering up, he doesn’t feel well, and he won’t let me look at his feet,” Shannon replies.

“Alright, let’s go take a look,” Nurse Smith sighs, and puts her hand out for Shannon to hand over the tablet.

Nurse Smith pulls back the curtain to Bed Four. “Mister Waters, Nurse Kelly here thinks that we should check your feet, she mentions you may have a history of diabetes. Please let us take a look, yeah?”

Shannon looks at the patient with concern written on her face as she reaches for some gloves. He sighs at her and Nurse Smith, and says, “Alright then, get on with it.”

“Do your feet hurt?” Shannon asks as she goes to untie the dirty shoes.

“Yeah, a little… I guess,” is the reply that she receives.

Nurse Smith places the tablet down and goes to grab some gloves of her own, helping to get the other shoe off.

Shannon can barely hold a gasp in when she takes off the left shoe. Blackened, dead, rotting skin and a nasty fungal infection on the toenails, along with a stench that matches the sight. “Nurse Smith, I think we need a surgical consult.”

Nurse Smith removes the right shoe, and although the right foot looks slightly better, it is still clear that his uncontrolled diabetes are a serious problem. “Agreed, get it ordered. I’ll get him something for the pain.”

Shannon removes her gloves and tosses them in the trash, and as she walks away, can hear Nurse Smith giving the patient a little lecture and discussing the seriousness of the situation. Shannon sighs. _Nobody should have to live with that kind of pain, no wonder the poor man was drunk out of his mind…_

Shannon sits down at the Nurses’ Station and orders the surgical consult for the diabetic old man. Once that’s taken care of, she starts doing some charting. _Finally, a moment to catch up_ , she thinks. She pulls up the charts for her patients on the computer and adds her notes. She digitally signs the notations and smiles at the letters RN after her name, truly appreciating using those well-deserved letters. By this time, the girl in Bed Three is in a leg cast and awaiting discharge.

Suddenly, she hears Claire call for her, “Nurse Kelly? Nurse Smith?”

“I’m over here,” Shannon calls back, standing up from her computer.

“That weird guy that was with the pneumothorax, have you seen him?” asks Claire.

Shannon notices Dr. Melendez standing beside her and she urgently responds, “No. Last I saw he was outside… trying to get in? The security guards were keeping him out.”

Claire curses under her breath. “Call security and ask if they’ve seen him. It’s urgent.”

Shannon nods and picks up the phone, speaking to the operator. “I need to speak with someone in Security please, urgently,” she requests. Having been transferred, she continues, “Yes, hello. I’m looking for a young man who was asked to stay outside. Brown hair, fair complexion, twenty-something… Yes, I saw him out front a while ago… Okay. Alright, thank you!” Shannon hangs up the phone. To Claire, she continues, “He’s out by the back entrance, sitting on a bench!”

“Thank you,” Claire offers before jogging off with Dr. Melendez in tow.

 _Curiouser and curiouser…_ Shannon muses. She sits back down at the computer to continue her charting. After a few minutes, she sees Dr. Melendez walking briskly back towards the OR, but Claire isn’t to be found. Shannon presses a button to put the computer to sleep and steps up to the desk, looking for Claire.

She spots her further down towards the door, the young man following her. “Claire, is everything alright?” Shannon asks as she gets closer, a worried look on her face.

“Yes, it’s all good. Thanks Shannon…” Claire replies as her and her guest continue on down towards the OR.

Shannon sighs, and just then Nurse Smith walks back over and she’s off to check on more patients.

\---

Another couple of hours pass and it’s time for Shannon’s last break before her shift is over, and she’s quickly noticing the tiredness seeping in. She heads to the cafeteria and orders a hot tea and a muffin from the café, and sits down near where she chatted with Claire earlier that day. _Seems so long ago, now_ , she muses.

She checks her phone and replies to her friend, “You wish.” Shannon giggles to herself, and checks her email. She takes a deep drink from her tea, and slouches in her seat a little, the warmth comforting her.

After a few moments, Shannon notices Claire walking across the cafeteria towards the opposite end. She follows Claire’s direction of movement over and sees that odd young man again, sitting alone at a table, his hands crossed. Claire sits down across from him.

Not meaning to be rude, Shannon turns her attention back to her phone, but can’t help and sneak a peek at the curious man sitting with Claire. Claire gets up to leave, and a few moments of conversing later, Shannon notices Dr. Glassman walk up and approach the young man, the two of them walking off together. Now she is more curious than before, if that was even possible.

She calls Claire over to her once the two men have left her standing there. “Claire!” Shannon shouts respectfully and offers a smile and a wave.

Claire walks over, cup of coffee in hand, and sits down across from Shannon. “Who. is. that. guy! What’s going on!” Shannon requests, emphasizing every word.

“Apparently he’s a doctor here, a new resident!”

“What!?” Shannon asks, confused.

“Yeah, one of the nurses said that is Dr. Shaun Murphy that Dr. Glassman was looking for earlier,” Claire continues. “I don’t know how or why, but yeah…”

“That’s so odd. Earlier I saw him trying to find his way back in the hospital but the security guards wouldn’t let him. You should have seen the guy trying to get in the revolving doors…”

“Yeah,” Claire continues, shyly, taking a sip of her coffee. “That’s my fault I guess… I told him to behave himself or he would be kicked out…” she laughs slightly.

“… and then you took him into the OR?”

“Yeah, Melendez didn’t know why he said the boy needed an echo, because the echo was normal, but I’m telling you, that guy saw something on that echo, and it saved his life. Twice, I guess he saved his life twice… Have you seen the video?” Claire rambles.

“What video?” Shannon asks, her tea now being ignored.

Claire pulls out her phone, finds the video, and turns the phone sideways so the both of them can watch the video of Dr. Murphy saving that boy’s life with the tube thoracostomy.

“Holy shit,” says Shannon. “He’s got some balls for doing that one…”

“You’re telling me,” says Claire. “... It’s just… He’s just weird.”

“Yeah, weird… but I can’t quite put my finger on it,” muses Shannon.

“Ah well, I gotta get back. Thanks for the assist earlier,” says Claire, standing up from the table.

“My pleasure. Let me know if you hear anything else about Dr. Murphy… Seems like there’s something interesting going on if Dr. Glassman is involved - not every day the president of a hospital asks around looking for someone like he was earlier.”

“You're right on that one! Sure thing, you too.” Claire goes to walk away, but then turns back. “Oh! Hey, let me give you my number. We should hang out sometime.”

“Sure! Here, give me a second…” Shannon says, fidgeting with her phone. “There we go. Alright - what’s your number?”

Claire gives Shannon her number and she replies with a text saying “Hi, it’s Shannon.” She looks up at Claire before she leaves, “There ya go, now you have my number, too.”

“Great. See you, Shannon!”

Shannon smiles to herself, and takes a sip of her now-lukewarm tea. _Dr. Murphy, huh… Poor guy… I wonder if he’ll be around much longer…_ she muses to herself before returning to work.

\---

After her shift is over about two hours later, Shannon says goodbye to the staff she sees, walking with some pep in her step, extremely proud of herself and her first day. She heads to the locker room, grabs her things, and heads out the door.

Shannon stops at the store on the way home and purchases a lock for her new locker, some treats for her little girls waiting at home, and grabs some Chinese takeout, too. _Good thing the girls don’t mind sleeping all day… If it wasn’t for them, these twelve-hour shifts would be the end of me, for sure_ … she thinks to herself as she drives home.

She opens the door and sighs, Chloe and Cassie running down the hallway to greet her. “Don’t look so excited, I know you two were sleeping just now…” Shannon scolds the cats, laughing to herself. She feeds them, and pulls a beer out from the fridge for herself. Chopsticks and Chinese in hand, she gets comfortable on the couch. “Alexa, turn on my evening playlist on Spotify,” Shannon says to the device, music coming to life.

Between bites of food and gulps of the well-deserved beer, she texts Alysha back, telling her about her eventful first day.

“Well, did you meet ANY hot guys?”

  * “Yes, there were a few.”



“I want to know all about them…”

  * “Well, there’s this one guy… tall, dark, and handsome, yeah?”



“Yeah?”

  * “He’s a dick. But definitely a 10/10.”



“Just my type!”...

About an hour later, Shannon lays in bed trying to fall asleep, recounting the day in her head, and looking forward to the next. Chloe and Cassie curled up next to her, purring, she thinks back to the cute young man she saw awkwardly trying to get in and out of that revolving door earlier in the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like I left everyone with a cliffhanger in the middle of our story last time, so I've decided to add this chapter early. I probably won't upload anything until after Thanksgiving, so Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who celebrate! Don't forget to leave comments or kudos if you like it so far and let me know how I'm doing. Thanks :)


	3. Great first impression, Shannon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **“We are all different. Don’t judge, understand instead.” – Roy T. Bennett**

Again, Shannon wakes up looking forward to the day. A smile on her face, she gets out of bed and takes care of her morning routine, sure to spend some time with her two girls. A double shift ahead, she packs her lunch and gets her work bag ready. She’s sure to add a few extra tea bags remembering her exhaustion yesterday around her 4pm break time. With plenty of time to spare, she heads out the door.

Shannon heads straight for the locker room to put her stuff away. She places her new lock on her locker and swipes her badge to clock in. As she goes to grab the door handle, it opens abruptly, surprising her. “Oh!” she yelps and jumps back. A young man stands in the doorway - she recognizes him as Dr. Murphy.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hit you with the door,” he says, not looking at her in the eyes.

“It’s okay, the door didn’t hit me, it just surprised me. I’m sorry… I’ll be more careful next time,” she replies, smiling.

“Yes, well… I have to clock in… I’m late...” he says, nodding at her and passing her by to go about his business.

“Ah… okay…” she says, confused as he passes her. _He must be in a hurry… and I should be, too,_ she thinks for a moment. She wants to introduce herself to him, but instead heads out the door and towards the Nurses’ Station.

Shannon reports to Nurse Fryday and greets her with a kind, “Good morning!” Just then, she catches sight of Dr. Murphy’s white coat jogging past the Nurses’ Station. Shannon giggles to herself.

“What’s funny Nurse Kelly?” Nurse Fryday asks.

“Nothing, sorry ma’am,” Shannon replies.

“Alright all of you,” Nurse Fryday starts, giving out orders to the congregated nurses. She gives the nursing staff updates from the last shift and assigns duties to each of the nurses for their rounds. A few minutes of waiting in anticipation to see what her duties will be today, Shannon’s turn finally comes around. “Nurse Kelly is with me today. We’ve got Melendez and the Three Musketeers on rounds today, so make sure the rest of you have the other Docs covered.”

 _The Three Musketeers_ , Shannon thinks to herself. She snorts in laughter for a moment, _She must think really highly of them…_ but just then Shannon is put on alert as Nurse Fryday turns to her.

“Grab your tablet and let’s go Kelly,” Nurse Fryday orders. “Melendez doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

As they walk away, however, one of the other nurses comes to get Nurse Fryday’s attention. “Dr. Melendez has just been called down to the ER for an emergent consult, he’s sending one of the residents up to do rounds with you today.”

Nurse Fryday sighs, “Very well.”

After a few minutes of waiting by the Nurses’ Station, Shannon spies Dr. Murphy heading over to meet with their first patient. “Finally…” Nurse Fryday mumbles to herself. “Let’s go, Kelly.”

As Dr. Murphy walks up, Nurse Fryday greets him, “Good morning Dr. Murphy, I’m Nurse Fryday and this is Nurse Kelly.”

Shannon sticks out her hand to greet him, “Very nice to meet you,” she says, before pulling her hand back in response to his shoulders and body pulling back away from her. _Well shit. I embarrassed myself and I embarrassed him, too,_ she thinks in a panic. _Great first impression Shannon_ , and tries to rectify the situation with a smile, she awkwardly curtseys at him.

“Yes… It’s nice to meet you too,” Dr. Murphy replies awkwardly.

“Yes, well, let’s start with discharging Mr. Dreyfuss,” Nurse Fryday interjects.

“Alright, yes,” Dr. Murphy says without any further consideration and walks into the room. “Yes, hello,” Dr. Murphy greets the patient. “I am here to evaluate you so that we can discharge you.” And with that, Dr. Murphy begins his examination, “Say Aahhhh…”

Nurse Fryday interjects again, “How long will this be?”

Shannon keeps quiet, her eyes wide from Nurse Fryday’s attitude and treatment of Dr. Murphy.

“Seven minutes. Without any complications, it takes seven minutes to do a discharge examination properly,” Dr. Murphy replies matter-of-factly.

“Dr. Dunsmuir has already cleared him to go and we need the bed.”

“Okay. Protocol requires that the surgical department also clears him,” Dr. Murphy replies before looking in the patient’s ear with the otoscope.

Shannon is with his matter-of-factness and lack of assertion over Nurse Fryday. _I should get the popcorn_ , she thinks. _This is interesting._

“You have an ear infection,” Dr. Murphy comments.

“Yes, that’s why he’s here…” Nurse Fryday replies sarcastically.

The patient interrupts, “My hearing’s been a little muffled and I’ve had some ringing.”

“They gave him amoxicillin and we’re sending him home, which is why _you’re_ here,” Nurse Fryday continues, more assertively, “to send him home…”

Dr. Murphy packs up his otoscope and replies as he walks away, “I’d like an MRI of the head and internal auditory meatus.”

“I’m not being discharged?” Asks the patient, confused. “What do you think is wrong?”

Nurse Fryday takes notes on her tablet, and Shannon looks confusedly between her and Dr. Murphy.

“I’ll tell you when I know for sure. I don’t want to scare you.” And with that, Dr. Murphy turns and walks out the door.

Shannon is left dumbstruck, staring at Nurse Fryday. She looks back at the patient, a confused and concerned look on her face, and shrugs.

“We will order the MRI, and get you on your way Mr. Dreyfuss,” Nurse Fryday replies, and walks briskly out the door, obviously bothered.

Shannon follows behind, and once the two of them are in the hallway, she can’t hold it in any longer. “ _What_ was that!?” she asks Nurse Fryday.

“Let’s go. Next room Kelly,” Nurse Fryday returns, ignoring what just happened.

Throughout their rounds, Shannon can’t stop thinking about Dr. Murphy and his peculiar attitude. She notices the hand clasping, the intonation in his voice, and the lack of direct eye contact. _Something is off_ , she thinks. _Is he anxious?_ she wonders, but she can’t quite put her finger on it. Nurse Fryday isn’t much for talking, and Shannon is tempted to ask her about him. Ultimately, she decides not to.

After checking on two more patients awaiting discharge from the ‘surgical department’ and much of the same between Nurse Fryday and Dr. Murphy, the exasperated Nurse Fryday instructs Shannon to call down for the lab work for the next patient.

“Sure thing,” Shannon replies and heads over to the Nurses’ Station to make that phone call. “Hi, yes, this is Nurse Kelly up in Inpatient, could you tell me what the ETA is for the lab results for Miss Bell? Yes… Okay. Thank you.”

As she goes to hang up the phone, she sees Dr. Glassman walking up, requesting a chart from one of the other nurses. Her phone call finished, she takes a quick note of it, and stands up as she hears Dr. Glassman speak to Dr. Murphy. Curiously, she watches.

“Shaun,” he asks, walking over to him. “What are you doing down here?”

“I’m waiting for her to fart,” he replies, matter-of-factly.

Shannon snorts, almost unable to keep in her laughter, she covers her face. _This is gonna be good…_

The patient waves awkwardly, clearly not enjoying the attention.

“Flatulence,” Dr. Murphy continues. “But I’m using the word ‘fart’ in front of the patient to be more casual. But you’re the president of the hospital so I’ll say ‘flatulence’ to you.”

The patient rolls her eyes dramatically and Shannon can’t stop her quiet giggling - out of sight of the patient, of course.

The look on Nurse Fryday’s face is one that which it is obvious that she is trying to make it unreadable.

Dr. Glassman pauses, looks to Nurse Fryday, and replies, “Well I appreciate that... Why are you doing that?” He looks at Nurse Fryday, who looks unamused.

“She had her deviated septum repaired. Before we can release her we have to make sure that she isn’t suffering from postoperative ileus,” Dr. Murphy replies.

“Ah,” Dr. Glassman replies. He looks back to Nurse Fryday, who looks away. “This is what Dr. Melendez feels you’ll be most useful doing today?... Waiting for farts?”

“I’m not just waiting for farts,” Dr. Murphy replies.

Shannon snorts again. _This is great…_

“Thank goodness,” Dr. Glassman interjects.

“I’m doing all the scut work,” Dr. Murphy finishes, proudly.

Nurse Fryday shrugs and looks meaningfully at Dr. Glassman, who replies. “Hm… Well… Welcome to your surgical residency.”

Dr. Glassman looks at the three of them before turning to walk away just as Dr. Murphy replies, “Thank you!”

Moments later, the patient says, “There. I think that was it.”

Dr. Murphy leans into the patient and sniffs inconspicuously, “I don’t think so. I’ll wait a little longer. This is important.” He turns back to his original position, and Nurse Fryday continues looking at the ceiling.

Shannon gets a grip on her giggles, straightens up, and walks back over to the three of them, unable to contain a smile. “The lab says the bloodwork should be ready in the next fifteen minutes or so.”

“Very well, thank you,” Nurse Fryday replies before returning to her previous position.

Shannon takes the hint and stands next to her, waiting quietly for Dr. Murphy’s next orders. _I can’t wait to tell Alysha about this one…_ She thinks back on the conversation she overheard and tries her best to not giggle, and barely succeeds.

Dr. Murphy looks at Shannon and notices her attempting not to laugh, but says nothing. He goes back to looking out over the Nurses’ Station.

After what felt like an eternity, the patient farts and Dr. Murphy seems pleased. “There. Now _that_ was a fart,” he says, without a pause.

Shannon tries to hold in her giggles again and holds her hand up over her mouth.

Noticing this, Dr. Murphy again looks at Shannon, but says nothing. His eyes try to read her expression, but then he stands up and speaks directly to the patient, “Do you feel any discomfort?”

“No,” she replies flatly.

“Alright then. Nurse Fryday, let’s take a look at those lab results. We should get her on her way.”

“ _Finally_ ,” Nurse Fryday mumbles, as she and Shannon head over to the Nurses’ Station, Shannon still attempting to hold in her giggles.

After Nurse Fryday and Dr. Murphy discuss the lab results, Nurse Fryday steps away to do some charting at one of the computers.

Shannon picks up her tablet and to also review some charting as Dr. Murphy steps up to her. She looks up as he begins to speak to her.

“Why were you laughing at me earlier?” Dr. Murphy asks seriously.

Shannon stands dumbstruck for a moment, “Uh… I… I wasn’t laughing at you Dr. Murphy, I was just laughing at the situation… I’m sorry if I offended you.” Nervously, she shifts her feet, her face serious trying to judge if she’s about to get in trouble. She quickly glances over to Nurse Fryday to see if she is paying attention - she isn’t.

Dr. Murphy considers her words for a moment. “Yes, farts are funny,” he replies with a smile.

Shannon giggles, her hand coming back up to her mouth. “Yes they are.” She giggles again.

Dr. Murphy has a small laugh in his voice before he says, “Okay then.” He turns to walk away.

\---

After another twenty minutes or so of charting, Shannon takes a break down in the cafeteria. She sends a text to Claire to see if she’s available to chat. “I’m in the café. Have a moment to chat?”

The reply comes a few moments later as Shannon grabs a seat, “Sure, be down in a minute.”

Claire arrives after a few minutes. “Hey! How’s your second day going?”

“Great! I’m on ‘scut work’ with Dr. Murphy,” Shannon replies with a small shrug.

“Ah, yeah. Melendez wasn’t too happy about him being late this morning,” Claire adds. “So, what’s up?”

“Nothing, I… I was just wondering… What’s up with Dr. Murphy? He’s the most timid doctor I’ve ever met… I think Nurse Fryday is about to go off on someone...”

“Nobody told you?”

“Told me what?” Shannon asks, scared of the answer but curious for it.

“I’m surprised. It’s all anyone can talk about here…” Claire sighs. “Shaun has Autism. The entire surgical staff is up in arms about it, the Board is eyeing him like a hawk.”

“Oh…” Shannon says, lost in thought. “That explains it… Wow. I’m being really insensitive. I’m sorry…”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, I’m just surprised you didn’t know. People won’t shut up about it.” Claire continues, “Poor Shaun, I would hate to have to deal with all their bullshit and _also_ have all of that pressure on me.”

“Oh yeah, I can’t imagine,” Shannon says, not really able or willing to comment more due to her limited interactions with him. “He almost ran into me this morning in the locker room,” she says, smiling.

Laughing, Claire asks, “Oh really!? How did that happen?”

Shannon relays the story, and her thoughts about Dr. Murphy as she met him that first time and thereafter. “Oh, that, and him and Dr. Glassman were discussing farts…” Shannon relays that entire story as well.

Claire and Shannon crack up laughing in the middle of the café, so much so that other patrons look at them oddly.

“He seems harmless. And brilliant. You’ll see…” Claire finishes with a smile. “I’ve got to get back. It was nice chatting with you. Let’s do it again soon.”

“Yes, of course! See you later!” Shannon replies with a small wave as Claire walks away. Shannon finishes her break by texting the funny story to Alysha, as well. In good spirits, she heads back to the Inpatient floor.

As she heads up to the Nurses’ Station, she spots Dr. Murphy there and as she approaches he looks over at her. “Alright, you’re here, let’s go,” he says before walking away.

Confused, she looks over at Nurse Fryday. “We’ve got a consult in Pediatrics.”

“Ah, okay,” Shannon replies, grabbing a tablet and following the three of them.

On the other side of the third floor, Dr. Murphy knocks and heads into a patient room. A young girl is laying on the bed while the parents are bickering by the window.

“Hello, I’m Dr. Murphy. What’s your name?” he asks, speaking to the young patient.

“Martine.”

“Hello Martine. The nurses tell me that your stomach hurts. May I take a look?” He asks.

The young girl nods. Nurse Fryday and Shannon stand against the wall as Dr. Murphy begins his exam.

“Does that hurt?” Dr. Murphy asks, palpating the girl’s abdomen.

“Yes,” she replies.

He moves his hand. “Does that hurt?” he asks again.

“Yes.”

“How much are we paying for this?” the father asks quietly, speaking to the mother. “She has a tummy ache. That’s what they do, they ache.”

“Shh…” the mother replies.

“Does that hurt?” Dr. Murphy continues.

“Yes,” Martine replies.

Nurse Fryday and Shannon both watch the parents bickering as Dr. Murphy continues the abdominal palpation examination.

Upon hearing one of the comments her parents made, Martine says to Dr. Murphy, “I like school.”

“Me too. What did you eat for dinner last night?” he asks as he preps her arm for the bloodwork.

“Cereal…” Martine offers, with a small shake of her head.

The parents continue to bicker back and forth and Shannon does her best to keep from rolling her eyes at the parents. She goes back to looking at Dr. Murphy as he draws Martine’s blood.

Just then, Dr. Murphy turns around to look at the nurses and states, “I want D-dimer, lactate, and amylase,” referring to the blood tests he wants to order - he looks between Nurse Fryday and Shannon, and then at the door.

Shannon turns her head because as Dr. Murphy finishes what he’s saying, Dr. Melendez walks in. “What tests are you ordering?” Dr. Melendez asks, grabbing the tablet from Nurse Fryday’s hands.

Dr. Murphy repeats himself, “D-dimer, lactate, and amylase.” He stands up with the three vials of blood in his hands.

“For a tummy ache? Hmmm…” Dr. Melendez asks, looking at Martine.

Shannon watches, curious.

“Yes,” Dr. Murphy replies. “I’m concerned it may be…” he pauses, looking back at the parents, before continuing. “Shall we talk outside?” he asks, leaning forward as he finishes his question.

The parents continue to bicker, and both Dr. Murphy and Dr. Melendez look their way. Dr. Melendez replies, “Yeah. Let’s talk outside.”

Melendez, Murphy, and Nurse Fryday head out the door with Shannon in tow.

As they congregate out in the hallway, the parents’ bickering can still be heard. “Have they been bickering like that the whole time?” Melendez asks.

“I didn’t notice. They aren’t sick,” Dr. Murphy replies.

Nurse Fryday nods as she’s handed her tablet back.

Melendez replies, “Yeah, they’re what we call a vector.”

Dr. Murphy queries, “Hmm?”

Melendez continues, “A carrier, a cause of disease.”

“You mean the parents?”

“Yeah,” Melendez continues. “That little girl has a tummy ache because mommy and daddy won’t stop fighting. This isn’t a medical issue. Send them home.”

“Could be intestinal malrotation which could quickly become fatal,” Dr. Murphy objects.

Melendez sighs and replies, “And every patient in this hospital could have malaria but that doesn’t mean we’re gonna go around testing for every condition we think they could have.”

Dr. Murphy looks around, listening intently, playing with the gloves on his hands.

Melendez continues, “For example, that MRI you ordered on the guy with the ear infection? Nice call, genius.”

Shannon couldn’t help but take a sharp breath in at Melendez’ statement. _What!?_ she thought, not sure if she is hearing correctly. She looks at Dr. Murphy’s face to see his reaction.

“Thank you,” is the truthful reply.

 _Oh no_ , Shannon thinks.

“I was being sarcastic,” replies Melendez. “It’s normal, he’s healthy. Send him home, too.”

Shannon’s face is aghast, surprised at Dr. Melendez’ treatment towards Dr. Murphy. Nurse Fryday is clearly laughing.

Melendez looks at Nurse Fryday and asks, “Why are you smiling?”

“Because you’re right,” she replies.

 _Oh shit…_ Shannon thinks, trying to make herself smaller, looking at Dr. Murphy for some sort of comfort…

“So you thought he was making a mistake and didn’t say anything? Just stood by watching, taking notes while he wasted everybody’s time? Is that your job?” Melendez asks Nurse Fryday.

 _Oh my god. He’s right here people!!_ Shannon thinks, wanting to yell at the both of them for talking over Dr. Murphy like this.

With a confident, stoic look, Nurse Fryday replies, “In my experience, doctors don’t listen to nurses. And they only talk to us to lecture us when they figure we screwed something up.”

The two of them look at each other, sizing the other up, as Shannon looks at Dr. Murphy for a reaction, but doesn’t get any.

Dr. Melendez looks back at Dr. Murphy and states, “From now on, you don’t run any tests you don’t have to run.”

Dr. Murphy replies, “How do I know if a test is needed until after I run it?”

Dr. Melendez looks at Nurse Fryday and states, “She’ll tell you. Today, she’s your boss.”

Nurse Fryday looks a little dumbstruck at Dr. Melendez, and he walks away without another word. Nurse Fryday looks back at Dr. Murphy.

Dr. Murphy glances at Shannon for a moment and then looks on down the hallway.

 _He’s embarrassed_ , Shannon thinks, as she notices a quiet calmness and a slight pink color arise in Dr. Murphy’s cheeks. Her heart aches for a moment. _That was really fucked up._ Shannon looks back at Dr. Murphy, trying to offer him a caring look, but he doesn’t look back at her. She shakes her head at what she just witnessed.

“Well then, let’s get back downstairs,” Nurse Fryday replies, trying to break the awkward tension that remains.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hulu took away all but 5 episodes of The Good Doctor, and now I'm mad... Sorry guys but updates may become fewer and far-between because I'm unable to keep up with the episodes disappearing as (I hope you've noticed) I use some of the dialogue directly from the show in this fic. Either way, thanks for sticking with me, and I hope you enjoy!


	4. Second impressions are always better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **“If there's a single lesson that life teaches us, it's that wishing doesn't make it so.” – Lev Grossman, _The Magicians_**

Shannon is extremely disturbed by what just happened, so she decides to text Claire.

  * “When is your next break? We need to talk.”



“Is it Shaun again?” is the reply.

  * “Yes. It’s bad.”



“I’ll take my lunch in about 30. Meet you?”

  * “K see you then.”



It takes all of her concentration and energy to get through the next thirty minutes without being distracted by how rude Dr. Melendez was, and how hurt Dr. Murphy looked. Finally, she heads down to the café with her lunch to meet with Claire.

Walking up to the table where Claire is already sitting, Shannon sits down with a sigh.

“What’s up?” Claire asks.

“Dr. Melendez is an ass.”

Claire laughs loud. “Yes, yes he is. What happened?”

“He was really rude to Dr. Murphy, and it’s pissing me off.” Shannon relays the story to Claire. “Now, I get where Dr. Melendez is coming from with all the extra tests, but he didn’t need to _insult_ him!”

“It’s okay Shannon, I’m sure Shaun is used to it!”

“It’s not right. He shouldn’t be ‘used to it’!” Shannon says, upset. “I feel like a jerk now because I was calling him weird yesterday, and I also realize he doesn’t need to be treated like crap. And then I think ‘well maybe he doesn’t want to be treated different at all’ - so that means getting treated like crap and all, and then I feel like a jerk all over again. I don’t know how I _should_ feel…” she rambles. “Does Dr. Melendez even realize how inconsiderate he’s being?” Shannon doesn’t notice she hasn’t touched her food yet.

“It’s my experience that doctors like him don’t really give a care,” Claire responds. “Why do you think _you_ care so much, Shannon?” Claire asks with a raised eyebrow.

“I don’t know, Dr. Murphy is just fine… He’s green, but so am I… Between Nurse Fryday and Dr. Melendez, I don’t know if either of us will survive the sarcasm and constant critique.”

“Oh Shannon, I’m sure you’re doing fine. Shaun is, too.”

“Do you think I should talk to him about it?” Shannon asks.

“Maybe… I don’t know. I haven’t had much time to get to know him, but I’m sure he’ll tell you if he doesn’t want to talk about it,” Claire responds.

Shannon considers it for a moment. “Alright, I think I will. I hope he doesn’t think I’m stepping out-of-bounds.”

“I don’t think he will. Not after what you said - him asking about you laughing at the farts,” Claire offers, laughing again.

Shannon’s smile breaks. “Yeah, that was pretty funny, but scared the shit out of me for a moment… haha no pun intended.” They both laugh together.

“Tell me, how is tall, dark, and grumpy today?” Shannon asks, referring to Dr. Kalu. She goes to get some food out of her lunch bag.

Claire snorts at the name-calling for a moment. “Uhm…” she pauses for a moment, not knowing how to proceed given that Shannon doesn’t yet know about their ‘relationship’. “He’s got a chip on his shoulder today… the ass…” Claire trails off.

“Yeah. When aren’t guys acting like that?” Shannon replies with a laugh.

Claire snorts in laughter, before getting lost in her thoughts.

\---

After her break is over, Shannon heads back to the Inpatient ward, hoping to find Dr. Murphy there. Nervous about what she should say and not paying attention to where she is going, she almost walks right into him. “Oh! Dr. Murphy.”

“Yes? Hello...” he says, turning around.

“Hello,” Shannon replies with a shy smile. She continues, nervously, “I… I just wanted to say, I don’t think it was right what Dr. Melendez did earlier. And it makes me angry that people talk over you like you don’t exist.”

He thinks about a reply for a moment before responding, “Yes, it makes me angry too… They don’t respect me.” Dr. Murphy’s hands wring and his jaw is taut.

Shannon notices his reaction, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you upset, I just wanted you to know that Nurse Fryday treats me the same way. I think you and I have a lot of this to look forward to…”

Dr. Murphy stands there, thinking, but doesn’t reply.

Shannon looks at him trying to gauge whether she’s overstepped her boundaries… Nervously she replies, “I’m sorry Dr. Murphy, I shouldn’t have brought it up. It won’t happen again.” She begins to step away.

“You can call me Shaun. That’s Shaun with a ‘U’,” he says, pulling his nametag out towards her.

Shannon smiles. “Thank you Shaun. And of course, call me Shannon.” She goes to turn away again.

“Shannon, does it hurt you when Nurse Fryday treats you like that?”

Shannon turns back to face him. “Yes it does. I know I’m a new nurse, just like you are a new doctor, but I don’t know why they have to be rude.”

“Yes, I don’t think they should be rude... A lot of people I meet are rude… You are nice. Thank you for being nice,” Shaun adds with a barely-there smile.

Shannon smiles widely. “You are very nice too, Shaun.”

Just then, Nurse Fryday calls out, “Kelly! Get over here!”

“Uh-oh, gotta go! Duty calls!” Shannon tells Shaun with a laugh. She trots off over back towards the Nurses’ Station. _Well, that went well… better than planned. Second impressions are always better_ , Shannon thinks. She smiles at herself, _What a sweetheart_.

Shannon texts Claire real quick.

  * “It went well.”



“That’s good. He seems nice.”

  * “That he is. Good luck with Dr. Grumpy.”



“Haha thanks”

\---

A little while later, Claire texts Shannon.

“He asked me what sarcasm is…”

  * “Jared?”



“No, Shaun. I think he was just mostly confused by Melendez’ sarcasm.”

  * “Noted. No sarcasm. Thanks.”



Shannon puts her phone back in her pocket and continues her work, still following Nurse Fryday around. Their next patient is an elderly male that needs his stitches removed from a skin tear.

“Hello Mr. Cochran, I’m Dr. Shaun Murphy. I am here to take your stitches out,” he states.

Shannon moves the rolling standing tray in front of the patient as Shaun sits down on the stool next to it. She smiles at Shaun as she places the tray of sterile instruments on the table and opens the package for him.

Shaun puts on gloves, and takes a look at the patient’s arm, grasping it gently. He delicately snips off the stitches. Something catches his curiosity, and he puts the instruments to the side. His hands now free, he grasps the patient’s arm gently again, looking closer.

“No,” Nurse Fryday states.

Shaun looks up at the patient, and the patient looks at Nurse Fryday.

“It might be infected,” Shaun replies, still looking at the healing wound.

“It’s not.”

“There is some discoloration,” Shaun asserts.

“He’s 82 years old, everything is discolored,” Nurse Fryday replies.

Shannon smiles behind her hand. The patient looks sideways and back, not sure how to assess the situation.

Shaun sits back, looks up at Shannon for a split second, and then removes his gloves and places them on the tray before standing up. “Very well… Nurse Fryday will take care of you from here,” Shaun replies before walking away.

Shannon looks back at him and shrugs a little, watching as he walks away. She reaches over and begins to clean up the tray.

As they finish up with Mr. Cochran, Nurse Fryday and Shannon walk over to where Shaun is writing notes in some medical records. “Next is Mr. Trevor White,” Nurse Fryday orders.

Shaun leads them over to the bed where Mr. White is sitting. “I am Dr. Shaun Murphy. The nurses say you have some abdominal discomfort?”

“Finally, yes. Here, take a look!” the patient takes a container from beside him and offers it to Shaun.

Shannon hands him some gloves. Shaun puts the gloves on and opens the container, picks up the bag inside of it - holding it up to the light to take a better look.

The bag is clearly filled with green-colored vomit.

“You kept your puke?” Nurse Fryday asks the patient.

“Yeah… I thought you’d want to see it,” the patient replies.

“It… looks like puke,” she responds.

Shaun continues to inspect the bag of vomit, tilting it, squeezing it...

 _Oh please god, don’t pop that bag…_ Shannon thinks, watching Shaun play with it.

“No, No no. It’s not the regular color.”

“Puke has a regular color?” Nurse Fryday asks, unimpressed.

“Yeah…” the patient replies, nodding.

Shannon shrugs, a smile on her face.

“It is a bit of an unusual color,” Shaun states, looking excited. “We could order some…”

Shaun is interrupted by Nurse Fryday’s head shake. He bounces on his feet and tosses the bag back in the container, “I’m sending you home!”

“You’re sure?” the patient asks him. “It’s safe for me to go home? So, am I okay?”

Shaun looks lost in thought for a moment, and the patient repeats himself. “Am I okay?”

“According to all hospital rules and direct instructions given to me, Yes!” he replies before walking off.

The patient looks at him and then over to Nurse Fryday, whose mouth snaps shut after Shaun’s response. Then she abruptly walks away.

Shannon quickly follows. _Well then, that’s that,_ she thinks.

“Send him home, Nurse Fryday,” Shaun replies as she steps up behind him at the Nurses’ Station. Shaun finishes what he’s doing and walks away without a comment or even a glance at Shannon.

 _Damn this must be hard for him_ , Shannon thinks. She’s snapped out of her thoughts by Nurse Fryday’s instructions.

“You heard him Kelly, get the guy discharged.”

Shannon nods and starts the discharge charting.

\---

After about an hour, it’s time for Shannon to head down to the ER. As she's walking down the hallway, she notices Shaun at the Nurses’ Station having a conversation with Nurse Fryday.

“Is that the girl with the bickering parents?” Nurse Fryday asks, leaning on the desk. “Didn’t we send her home four hours ago?”

He doesn’t respond. Rather, he continues to look as if he’s thinking deeply about something, looking down to the chart in front of him.

 _Hmm… I wonder why he’s so worried about that little girl,_ Shannon thinks. _I should ask him about it._

Just then, another nurse runs over. “Dr. Murphy, Dr. Melendez needs you in surgery.”

With that, Shaun rushes off.

“I wish I didn’t have to babysit like this,” Nurse Fryday states to nobody in particular and walks away as Shannon walks over and takes a look at the chart that Shaun had just left.

 _Bitch..._ Shannon thinks. She looks down at the chart, trying to see what Shaun was so focused on. Seeing nothing that stands out, she closes up the chart and puts it back on the shelf.

A few moments later, she spies Shaun quickly hurrying back down the hallway, walking briskly with hands clasped in front of him, headed in the opposite direction of the OR. Shannon smiles to herself.

“Nurse Kelly, go check on the lab results for Bed Two please. Don’t leave until you have them in hand. Thank you!” Nurse Smith asks.

“Ah yes, the teenager with the urinary tract infection.”

“That’s the one,” Nurse Smith replies with a smile. “He’s getting on my nerves and I want him out of here,” she says sweetly.

Shannon laughs. “Alright then,” _Must be a little dickhead to be getting on Nurse Smith’s nerves!_

She heads down towards the lab and spots Shaun there. She also sees Carly the lab manager sitting at her workstation.

Looking agitated, she hears Shaun say firmly, “If you don’t do Dr. Melendez’ test right now, I will throw a rock through your window.” His face is flushed and his neck is strained, his hands on his hips.

Shannon gasps silently and stops.

Carly pauses her work and looks up to him. She steps up to the window, “Well I wouldn’t want that…” Carly gives him a half-smile before continuing, “Go have a seat. Your results will be ready in fifteen minutes.”

Shaun removes his hands from his waist, clasps them, and backs off, subtly bowing at Carly as he takes a seat. Calm now, his shoulders visibly relax.

 _Well then, my turn!_ Shannon thinks. “Hi Shaun,” she says.

“Hello Shannon.”

Shannon walks up to the window. “Hi Carly, I’m checking on results for ER Bed Two - Chester is the last name.”

“Yep, one second. I’ll check on it in a moment here.”

“Thanks!” Shannon says before also backing off to sit down. She sits next to Shaun. “You were pretty upset about that… Why did you threaten to throw a rock through Carly’s window?”

“Mmmm…” Shaun hesitates for a moment, not looking at Shannon. “Mmm… My brother said once that if I wanted to get anything in life, never be afraid... And then he threw a rock in someone’s window.”

Surprised, Shannon suppresses a giggle. “Well then, I mean… he’s not wrong… but I don’t think it’s a good idea to be threatening people with rocks around here.”

“Yes, it was a little absurd. I should apologize to Carly,” Shaun says, his hands turning over each other.

“Yes you should.” She pauses for a moment before continuing. “Shaun?” she asks.

“Yes?” he replies, looking at her momentarily.

“Can I offer you some advice?”

“Hmm...Yes.”

“Maybe you should try to learn to assert yourself. In a professional way. I know it hurts you that Dr. Melendez and Nurse Fryday don’t trust you, so maybe you can try to be more assertive.”

“Yes, I have thought of that. Thank you, Shannon.”

“You’re welcome.” She smiles at him.

Carly walks up to the window, “Shannon, the results are done. Here you are.” She slides the lab results under the glass.

“Thanks Carly,” Shannon stands up and takes the paperwork. She turns to head back upstairs, smiling first at Shaun before she goes.

“Mmmm…” he hums to himself as he spots Shannon smiling at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That winter finale was a heartbreaker there at the end... Poor Shaun! What am I going to do with my Monday nights until January 8th!? (I guess I'm going to write more...) :D
> 
> P.S. - Comments and Kudos make me work faster! ;)


	5. He’s a god damned doctor!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **“Instinct is a marvelous thing. It can neither be explained nor ignored.” – Agatha Christie**

Shannon returns to the ER and gives Nurse Smith the results of Bed Two’s labs. “It’s gonorrhea. Give the ass some Ceftriaxone in the ass and send him on his way…” Shannon and Nurse Smith laugh at the pun.

“Well Shannon, as much as I like you, I think you should take care of this one. Go and have the talk with him.” Nurse Smith smirks, and walks away to visit another patient.

“Damnit,” Shannon states. “I hate teenagers,” she mumbles to herself. She gets some paperwork ready and prepares to give the kid the injection and the ‘safe sex’ talk. She picks up some supplies and heads over into Bed Two’s area, her hand ready to pull the curtains back as she calls out, “Mr. Chester?”

“Yes,” the kid replies rudely.

Shannon fully pulls back the curtain and introduces herself. “I’m Nurse Kelly, I have the results back.” She places her things down on the end of the bed. “The swab we took shows that you have an STD called gonorrhea. Have you heard of that before?”

“Fuck, that whore bitch…” the kid replies, picking up his phone and ignoring Shannon, seeming to avert his anger at his phone.

“Excuse me?” Shannon asks, her hand over his, pushing his phone down on his lap. “This is serious, Mr. Chester. Please let me speak with you before you take to social media.”

The teenager looks as if he’s about to smart off at her, but Shannon’s stern look makes him think twice. “Yes ma’am. I have heard of gonorrhea in health class.”

“Well then you may also remember that it is very treatable that we’ve caught it quickly, but left alone it could become a serious health condition. First, we need to talk about your habits. Are you having unprotected sex?”

The boy hesitates and mumbles, but finally looks up at her, ashamed, and a little scared. “Yes ma’am.”

“Well I’m not going to lecture you, but you really should consider using a condom. I brought you some.” Shannon moves her hand to the end of the bed, and pats the little bag that she had placed for him. “Luckily gonorrhea is treatable, but there are other STDs out there that are not, and can cause some serious sexual consequences.” Shannon looks at the teenager with stern concern on her face. “I have given you a few things to read over, and as I mentioned, some free condoms. However, I also must let you know that it is my responsibility to report your de-identified patient data to the county health department.”

“Wait what!?” the kid starts, concern and panic on his face.

“I said _de-identified_ , Mr. Chester.”

“So… that means nobody will know it’s me…?”

“That is correct. The health department will know that there was an eighteen-year-old male patient in the ER today being treated for gonorrhea, and that he was given antibiotics and sent home with information about STDs and some free condoms.”

“Oh… ohkay…” he replies.

“Please, Brock... May I call you Brock?” Shannon asks gently. The patient nods and she continues, “Think about with whom and how you have sex next time. Always use a condom, and get STD checks often.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Oh, and don’t blame the girl you had sex with either. It’s likely she was also unaware…” Shannon finished, a stern look. The boy nods ashamedly, and Shannon continues. “Alright, I’m going to give you an injection of antibiotics, and send you home. You should follow up with your family doctor in two weeks for another test to see that the gonorrhea has been completely eliminated.”

“Okay,” he replies.

“Roll over,” Shannon says, grabbing some gloves and putting them on.

“What!?”

“This injection is going in your buttocks, and I must say, it’s going to sting quite a bit…”

\---

A few hours later, Shannon signs off on the last of her charting and heads up towards the locker rooms to clock out. Before she does, Nurse Fryday stops her.

“Sorry Kelly, we need you to stay for another 8-hour shift, we’ve got too many full beds. Clock out, take a two-hour break and come back down to the ER.”

“Alright,” Shannon says, sighing. She goes to clock out and heads to the break room, looking for a bed, hoping to catch a quick nap. As she walks into the break room, she notices Shaun sitting there at the table, studying some medical journals.

“Hi Shaun, I got pulled on for another shift. Do you mind if I take a nap in here?”

“No I don’t mind... It won’t bother me unless you snore,” he says, matter-of-factly.

Shannon snorts in laughter. “Ha, no, I don’t snore Shaun.” She laughs to herself for a moment as she walks over to the common-area bed and takes off her shoes and pulls back the covers, getting into the bottom bunk.

“I think I scared some of the patients today,” Shaun says to her, looking over at where she’s getting in bed.

“Why do you think that, Shaun?”

“The patient Trevor White went to Dr. Glassman and complained about me. He looked scared even though I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I think maybe Trevor White is a little paranoid,” Shannon offers with a smile, trying to comfort him. “Maybe you just need a little more practice learning how to word things better so paranoid patients don’t get bothered. But really, Shaun, it’s your first day, and you are still learning.”

“Hm…” Shaun hums at her response, thinking for a moment. “You’re right... Thank you Shannon. Have a good nap, I will be quiet now.”

“Thank you, but first - I forgot, I wanted to ask you - Why were you so worried about Martine LaDuff?”

“Oh… hmm… I think it might be something serious. I don’t think that the parents are causing Martine’s stomach issues - that does not make sense. She was very tender when I was performing the abdominal palpations. I took the blood down to Carly. I’m waiting for her to page me with the results.”

“Oh, well… Good for you Shaun. Follow your instincts. Let me know how that turns out.” Shannon smiles at him before rolling over. She sets an alarm on her phone and smiles to herself as she closes her eyes. She sighs a few times before quickly falling asleep.

Shaun notices Shannon’s sighs and realizes that her sleep noises don’t bother him, rather it’s quite the opposite - they’re soothingly rhythmic and calming. He muses, _She’s not as distracting as my old roommates or studying with other women in the library at university.._.

After another 45 minutes or so, he receives the page from Carly that the lab results are ready and quietly gets up to leave, careful not to disturb Shannon sleeping.

\---

About an hour and a half after she falls asleep, Shannon awakes to her buzzing phone alarm. It takes her a moment to realize where she is as she turns the alarm off. She turns over towards the room, and notices that Shaun has picked up his things and left. _He must have gotten the results. Ah, well… back to work._

Shannon stretches as she gets up and out of bed, and puts on her shoes. She checks her phone for the time, and notices she has enough time for a quick stop at the café before clocking back in. She grabs a quick cup of hot tea, comes back to clock in, and heads over to the ER Nurses’ Station.

She spots Nurse Fryday and heads in her direction. “Alright Nurse Fryday, I’m back on the clock.”

“Good. Bed Three needs some meds. Check the chart and take care of it,” she orders.

Shannon grabs a tablet and logs in, taking a look at the patient’s chart. 65-year-old man with chest pain, awaiting x-ray and CT. Labs have been taken but haven’t returned yet; the patient needs a small dose of morphine to reduce pain until labs come back. She gathers her things and heads in to check on the older man.

“Mister Lopez, I have some pain meds for you.”

“Oh, yes please,” The old man has a pained look on his face, and his wife is grasping his hand.

“Are you allergic to morphine?” Shannon asks as she checks his patient wristband.

“No I’m not.”

“Alright then, we’re just giving you a small dose to help with the pain until we figure out what’s going on.” Shannon checks her tablet against the patient’s name, and then places it down on the bed. She removes the vial and syringe from her pocket, and checks the IV before measuring the dose, and inserting the needle into the IV site, slowly depressing the plunge on the syringe.

“Please, miss, when is the lab going to come and take him to do the CT?” the wife asks.

“They should be here shortly.” Shannon replies, looking at the wife. She continues depressing the plunge, “How do you feel now, Mr. Lopez?”

“I feel okay… still pain.”

“Any dizziness?” Shannon continues slowly administering the medicine.

“No.”

“Alright then.” Shannon finishes and removes the needle, flushing the IV with some saline. “Sorry, this will be cold; it’s just a saline flush.” She removes the syringe and places both of the expended syringes and the vial in the red sharps container. She removes her gloves and places them in the trash. Shannon picks up the tablet and notates the chart. “Give the meds a few minutes to kick in. Imaging should be here soon to take you for that chest x-ray and the CT. Use your call button if you need us,” She offers with a smile as she heads back out into the hallway.

Shannon walks over to the Nurses’ Station and suddenly hears a commotion towards the ER entrance doors. She hears yelling, and puts the tablet down as she looks over… she sees Shaun dramatically doing compressions on top of a patient being pulled through the ER on a gurney, followed by a host of people rushing him down the hall. She grabs gloves, puts them in her pocket, and jogs towards them.

“Patient is a ten-year-old female, she has bradycardia with hypovolemic shock…” Shaun shouts.

As Shannon meets the team she runs alongside the gurney. “Dr. Murphy, is this Martine LaDuff?” She asks in a rush, knowing the answer as she looks back and sees Martine’s parents following the gurney and machinery.

“Yes! She needs oxygen and IV adrenaline and a liter of saline wide-open please!”

“Bed Two! Take her to Bed Two!” Shannon shouts, before stepping back to the side and grabbing a bag of saline off the shelf and quickly grabs syringes of adrenaline and saline from the med cart in the hallway.

“Coming through!” another nurse yells at the people in the hallway.

Shaun reaches down to check the young girl’s pulse, loudly stating, “Her pulse is better, she needs an ultrasound!”

Shannon hands the IV bags and syringes to another nurse and tells them, “I’ll get the ultrasound cart! Get the IV going!”

As the other nurses and staff and Martine’s parents continue on down the hallway, Shannon runs over to the closet with the ER med technology carts. Grabbing the utlrasound cart, she pushes it towards Bed Two. As she arrives, she notices Shaun pacing as the nurses get the IV into Martine. She also notices that the young girl has regained consciousness, her eyes fluttering and her mother at the head of the bed stroking the girl’s hair.

“Dr. Murphy, the ultrasound for you!” Shannon states, pushing it up towards the side of the bed he is standing at.

Shannon plugs the machine in as Shaun grabs the ultrasound gel and squeezes it onto the patient’s stomach. “Sorry, this is cold,” he states.

The machine comes to life when Shannon powers it on, and she says, “It’s ready.” She hands Shaun the transducer and he places it on the girl’s stomach. She watches as he moves it around gently, trying to get a good look at the girl’s colon.

Shaun stares at the foot of the bed for a moment before directing his attention back at the screen. “There!” he states, after a few tense moments of silence.

Nurse Fryday looks unamused.

“The small bowel is twisted around the superior mesenteric artery.” He stands back, removing the ultrasound transducer, “Martine needs surgery immediately!” His hands go up in frustration, still holding the transducer.

Shannon smiles proudly. _I knew it! Way to go, Shaun!_

Nurse Fryday hesitates for a moment, “We need to confirm with Dr. Melendez…”

Shaun interrupts, “Nope!” his hands flail a little as he is overcome with emotion. “Dr. Melendez is in surgery. Part of Martine’s bowel is dying and killing her with it.”

“No, you cannot make these calls on your own. Dr. Melendez was very clear,” Nurse Fryday replies firmly.

 _The audacity of this bitch!_ Shannon thinks, angrily trying to keep her thoughts in check, wanting to yell at Nurse Fryday aloud in support of Shaun. _He’s a god damned doctor!_ Instead, she yells at Nurse Fryday in her head...

Shaun reaches over to set the transducer down on the cart, red in the face. “He _was_ very clear,” he states, walking away. “It’s past midnight, which means it’s tomorrow, which means you’re no longer my boss.” Shaun walks over and picks up the phone.

Shannon watches, mouth agape for a moment, and then lets out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. She smiles widely. _Yeah, eat that for breakfast!_ she thinks - cheering on Shaun in her mind.

Nurse Fryday’s and Martine’s mother’s mouths are also agape. The parents and Nurse Fryday all look at each other in shock, while Shannon starts to wipe off the ultrasound gel from Martine’s stomach, smiling and almost laughing. _Haha! Go Shaun! He showed you!_ Shannon thinks.

Shaun speaks into the phone, “Is this the OR Scheduler?... Yes… This is Dr. Murphy. Prepare an OR for surgery…” Shaun continues speaking with the scheduler with more information, and finally wraps up the call. “Thank you…” he says and hangs up the phone.

Shaun walks back over to Martine’s bed to speak with the parents, his hands wringing and writhing… Shannon believes him to be excited but also nervous.

“Martine will undergo emergency surgery to fix the intestinal volvulus. Nurse Fryday will get you the paperwork to consent for surgery...” Shaun bounces and nods at Nurse Fryday, a proud half-smile on his face. “...and Nurse Kelly will prepare Martine for emergency surgery and answer any questions you may have. Thank you, I must go get ready.” He nods at Shannon, and turns to walk away.

“Well…” Nurse Fryday replies nonplussed, and then she herself turns to walk away.

Shannon looks up to the parents, and down to Martine. She places a hand on Martine’s shoulder and says kindly, “Dr. Murphy is brilliant, he will take care of you.”

\---

Shannon’s phone buzzes in her pocket. Sitting at the Nurses’ Station doing some charting, she checks her phone. It’s Claire with a text.

“Jared is a huge ass.”

  * “Haha, I’ve noticed. What’d he do now?”



“He took credit for Shaun’s idea with the nephrotomy…”

  * “You did a nephrotomy today? Awesome!”



“Yeah it was awesome but it was Shaun’s idea! The asshole. Who steals credit like that?”

  * “That’s pretty shit he took credit for the idea.”



“Tell me about it. I don’t even think Shaun knows.”

  * “Nope, but he had a win for himself tonight with an intestinal volvulus.”



“Good for him. He deserves a win.”

  * “If you take another break, let me know. I’ve got plenty to tell you…”



With a smiley-emoji, Shannon ends the conversation and places her phone back in her pocket. She returns to charting, trying to finish up for the night. Before long, she’s interrupted by a familiar voice calling her name.

“Shannon?” she hears.

“Yes?” She replies, looking up at Shaun who seems very proud of himself, bouncing on his heels as he walks over towards her.

“Thank you.”

“Thank me? Why? I didn’t do anything - you’re the one with the win for that young girl! You saved her life tonight.” Shannon replies with a quick laugh.

“You told me that I should try to assert myself and I _did_ assert myself with Nurse Fryday.”

“Yes you did, Shaun, and you did a wonderful job. You should be very proud,” Shannon replies with a smile.

“I followed my instincts… Thank you for that too, then.” He sits down next to her at one of the computers to complete his charting.

“You’re very welcome." A few moments later, she continues, "So... Claire told me that Jared used your idea in surgery. Does that bother you?” Shannon asks, using the same straightforward tactic at asking questions as Shaun does.

He hums for a moment before answering… “Yes he used my idea. I don’t think it matters.”

“I think it matters very much. You shouldn’t let that happen too often.”

“Hmm…. mmm Okay,” is the only reply she gets.

A few minutes of companionable silence pass, the both of them working on charting before they clock out. The silence is eventually interrupted by Shaun. “I think I will go check on Martine one last time before going home.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Shannon looks over to him with a smile.

Shaun logs out of the computer and goes to stand up, pushing the chair back in. “Have a good night, Shannon,” he says kindly as he walks away.

“You too, Shaun. Good night,” she sits there for a moment, smiling to herself.

Within fifteen minutes, Shannon is done charting and she goes to clock out and grab her things. She grabs some Mexican takeout on the way home.

As she opens the door, her cats come running down from the end of the hallway. “Lazy bones, the both of you,” she teases them. Shannon places her things down on the kitchen island and tells Alexa to turn on her playlist. “And don’t act like you’re starving, the automatic feeder did its job…” she says, pointing at the water and food dispensers in the corner, still half-full as if to prove her point. Still, she grabs a can of wet food out from under the sink and splits it between their two other bowls before grabbing a beer out of the fridge and the styrofoam box of food to take over to the couch.

Exhausted but hungry, she finishes her tacos and beer quickly, giving her girls some attention before getting up from the couch. “I missed you too, girls… I’m sorry I was late today. I hope I won’t have many of these extra shifts…” After a few more moments of petting and playing with them, she gets up and cleans up. She undresses and grabs a quick shower before heading to bed.

Her curly brown hair still damp, she falls asleep quickly, but not without the thought of the ghost of a smile on Shaun’s face when he walked over to thank her today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm getting more and more excited about this story as I go along... I hope you're enjoying it! :) Chag Sameach and Happy Hanukkah if you celebrate it! :)


	6. Shaun sure is an enigma...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **“Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?” – L.M. Montgomery**

“It seems to me that you have a crush on this guy, Shannon… He’s all you’ve talked about!” Alysha yells over her pink martini. Loud music plays in the background; Shannon and Alysha are enjoying drinks at a local club.

“No! He’s brilliant is all!” Shannon snaps back, taking a deep drink of her pink martini. She cringes after she swallows it. “Yuck! Why did you order this for me!?”

“Because it will get you drunk faster than that nasty beer you like so much. So… Why can’t you tell me about this other guy, the dickhead, Jared, you said his name was? When can you introduce me? He sounds hot.” Alysha asks.

“I don’t know. Never probably.”

“Awww. C’mon! You know I dumped that Jake idiot a while ago… I’m down for some tall-dark-and-handsome!” Alysha laughs, and finishes her drink in one gulp. “I’m going to get you another one! You’re not fun enough yet!” she yells, before stepping away from the table.

Shannon goes to yell out in objection, but instead loudly sighs, “It’s no use.” She takes another big sip of her overly-sweet martini, and places her empty glass down on the table. Her inner thoughts follow along with the loud music.

_Wild ones, like we fresh out the cage_   
_Showtime baby, fresh off the stage_   
_Bad lil' mama, fresh off the page_   
_Front like you love it, but you know that you hate it_

Shannon is singing along to the song, swaying a little by the table waiting for her friend to return when a young man walks up to her. 

“Like this song?” he asks, handing her a drink.

She declines the drink, “Yes, but no thank you, I don’t take drinks from anyone but the bartender.”

“Aw c’mon, don’t play like that… don’t you wanna party?” he offers with a smirk, moving closer to her.

She quickly steps back, putting her hand out to block him from moving closer. “No thank you. It’s time for you to leave, you’re harshing my buzz, dude.”

Just then, Alysha comes back. “Who’s this?” she asks, handing Shannon her drink.

Shannon accepts the drink from Alysha. “Some dickwad that was just about to leave!” she states assertively, taking a sip from her drink.

The guy backs off, shaking his head, about to head off to con some other girl.

“C’mon Shannon, you’ve been single for what, over a year now!? Gotta play the field.”

“Maybe you’ll remember I was busy graduating and taking my boards.”

“Alright fine, whatever, but I want to dance.”

Shannon gives another sour face after taking another deep sip from her martini. “If you want to dance Alysha, you’d better start buying me some tequila. This shit is nasty,” she says, laughing.

The girls laugh together and start swaying to the music, moving their way over to the dance floor.

_Now we got familiar_   
_We melt like we're chocolate_   
_I taste your love, you're like a drug_   
_Yeah I'm gon' give you all_   
_All my attention, to all your dimensions_   
_Let's do the things we're made to do_   
_And let our bodies talk_

Shannon finally gets her hands on some tequila and starts to enjoy the evening, her and her friend dancing to the music while ignoring the looks of some douchey-looking guys on the sidelines…

\---

“Damnit!” Shannon grumbles as her alarm goes off. With a slight headache, she gets out of bed. She hops in the shower, still stiff from dancing the night previous but gets out feeling refreshed. For breakfast, she takes two Tylenol with a glass of tomato-vegetable juice, and fills up her water bottle and grabs a muffin to go. “Gotta run, be good today girls!” she calls at her cats as she runs out the door.

Arriving at St. Bonaventure about a half-hour later, Shannon spies Claire doing some charting at the Nurses’ Station. “Hey there!”

“Hey Shannon… You look a little rough around the edges…” Claire laughs a little at her.

“Yeah yeah… I was out with my friend last night. She refused to let me go home early…” Shannon laughs back. She picks up a tablet to log in and check the patient logs to see who’s in the unit.

“Nurse Kelly!” Nurse Fryday yells from down the hallway.

“Gotta go! Chat soon!” Shannon offers to Claire before jogging off.

Shannon heads over to where Nurse Fryday is standing, “Check on Rooms Four and Five - let’s get the beds clear.”

“Yes ma’am,” Shannon replies, looking at the charts on her tablet.

The patients in Rooms Four and Five are both postoperative and recovering from surgery. The young woman in Room Four is recovering from a skin-saving mastectomy and breast prosthesis. “Good morning Miss Blakely, I’m Nurse Kelly. How are you feeling?”

“I’m a little groggy but okay,” the patient replies.

“Yes, you’re still on quite a bit of medication. Let me check for swelling and bruising. Do you mind?” Shannon asks, putting on gloves and rubbing her hands to warm them up.

“No, go ahead.”

Shannon pulls back the blankets and gown from the patient, and palpates the area around the young woman’s breasts, looking for abnormal dolor (pain), calor (warmth), rubor (redness), and tumor (swelling) - reviewing the terminology in her mind as she does the exam. “Does this hurt as I’m pressing around here?”

“No,” the patient replies.

“Alright, I think everything looks good. I’m going to take some blood to do a complete blood panel and make sure there’s no infection or anything, but otherwise, I think we’ll be able to get you home soon!”

The patient smiles, “Thank you.”

“Sure thing,” Shannon offers as she gets some vials and a needle ready to take blood. “Is there someone you would like to call to take you home?”

“Yes, I’ll call my sister to pick me up.”

“Alright, if the blood work comes back normal, you should be ready to go this afternoon,” Shannon says. She ties off the arm with an elastic tourniquet and finds a vein. “This shouldn’t hurt too bad,” she offers as she inserts the needle. After getting to the vein on the first try and taking a few vials of blood, Shannon quickly finishes up with the patient. “There we go! I’ll be back a little later after we get the results and get you some discharge paperwork and take-home instructions.”

“Thank you,” the patient adds.

“You’re welcome. Feel free to use that Call Button if you need us.” Shannon puts the waste in the sharps container and takes off her gloves, grabbing her tablet as she goes, making a quick notation for the lab work. As she heads back out into the hallway, Shannon’s phone starts buzzing in her pocket. She ignores it for a moment, finishing up the charting. She notices that the other nurses are abuzz about a patient named Chuck getting a new liver. Shannon overhears that Claire and Shaun were sent to pick it up from San Francisco. Thinking it might be Claire texting her, she takes a quick break at the Nurses’ Station to check her phone - She was right - it’s Claire.

“You seem to be getting on quite well with Shaun, how do you get him to talk?”

  * “He won’t talk to you?”



“He’s talking, it’s just… I’m trying to get him to open up”

  * “I don’t know how open he is with me… but I think it’s just gonna take time. I think the only reason he talks to me much is because we connected about Melendez and Nurse Fryday”



“Hmm, yeah maybe”

  * “Sorry I can’t help more”



“That’s ok… We’ll see how it goes… Maybe I’ll give Glassman a call”

  * “That sounds like a good idea”



“Thanks Shannon!”

  * “My pleasure! Have fun on the liver delivery!”



_Hmm, I wish I could help… You’re on your own there Claire. Shaun sure is an enigma…_ Shannon thinks to herself, smiling at the thought. She puts her phone away and looks at her tablet to go check on the patient in Room Five.

Much in the same manner as with the patient in Room Four, the young man in Room Five needs his surgical site checked and blood drawn - his was a surgery to repair a shattered arm by putting rods in the radius and ulna. The poor guy got his arm mangled in a workplace machining accident. _The orthopaedic surgeon really performed a miracle on that one…_ Shannon thinks to herself. After tending to the patient, Shannon checks her phone to find another text from Claire.

“So the helicopter doesn’t bother him, but police lights and sirens do…”

  * “How did you find out about the police car? Are you guys in trouble?”



“The helicopter couldn’t take off so we had to get an escort, on our way back now”

  * “That sounds like fun… I hope the cop is at least a nice one”



“I think so. Hopefully we’ll be back soon”

  * “Godspeed!”



Shannon takes the blood vials from her two patients down to the lab. “Hey Carly, I’ve got some blood for you.”

“Oh goody, my favorite thing!” Carly says, laughing.

Shannon laughs. “Just send them up when they’re ready. Thanks!”

“Will do!”

Shannon heads to the café for her lunch break while she waits for the blood work to come back. While she enjoys her lunch, Claire texts her again.

“The man’s a genius… we just used blue slushie from the 7-eleven to cool down the liver. That’s one we should publish in a medical journal”

  * “Haha! That’s great!”



“Oh, and I figured it out… He doesn’t like questions!”

  * “Ohhhhhh… that explains a lot! I don’t think I’ve been asking him questions, I’ve just been chatting at him!”



“That makes sense. We cracked the case, Watson!”

  * “You’re a dork. But I like that I’m the doctor in this analogy! (winky face emoji)



“LOL”

Shannon finishes her lunch and heads back up to the inpatient ward, smiling to herself. _I’m glad it’s so easy to get along with Claire… I should have her over for dinner sometime soon._

\---

After a couple hours of doing rounds, Shannon is ready for another break - needing a strong, hot cup of tea. She gets some hot water in a to-go cup from the café, adding a bag of tea she brought from home. Paying and thanking Gwen the cashier, Shannon takes a seat near the window. She sighs and puts her feet up across to the opposite chair. She checks her social media for a few minutes before heading back upstairs for the remainder of her shift.

By the time that Shannon gets back to the Nurses’ Station, the labs have been put in the patient's digital charts and thankfully all of the results are normal. Also, she overhears Dr. Melendez and Dr. Kalu discussing the results of the liver patients’ labs and the upcoming emergency board meeting to decide his fate.

Not wanting to overtly eavesdrop, Shannon contacts the admissions people to have them ready to discharge the patient in Room Four and puts together take-home instructions. She shares with the young woman the good news about her lab work, the take-home instructions, and makes sure that her sister is coming to take her home. Everything getting wrapped up there, Shannon makes a few quick notes on her tablet, and goes to speak with the patient in Room Five.

“Hi there Mr. Nuñez. Good news, the blood work came back normal, everything’s looking good. I’m going to have the surgeon come in one last time to check on you and answer any questions you have. Once he does that, we’ll get you some take-home instructions.”

“Thank you, good. I have no idea how I’m going to handle this thing,” the patient adds, concerned about the large cast on his arm.

“Well, Dr. Harmon will be able to answer any questions about that, and maybe if your partner makes it in time, we can also help explain to him how to handle showers and things like that before you have your surgery to remove the pins.”

“Alright, I’ll let him know.”

“Any other questions, don’t hesitate to ask the doctor, okay?” Shannon offers.

“Alright, thank you,” the patient says.

“You’re welcome, I’ll be back in a bit. Use your Call Button if you need anything.” With that, Shannon heads back to the Nurses’ Station, again leaving herself some notes on the patient’s chart using her tablet.

Shannon pages the orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Harmon to let him know the patient is ready for his discharge evaluation. Just then, Jared walks up to where she is sitting by the phone. “Nurse Kelly, please let Dr. Browne know that Chuck is not receiving the liver. The board just made their decision and he has been moved to the bottom of the list. I called San Jose Presbyterian and they’re coming to pick up the liver, so tell her to wait for them outside.”

Sighing a little at the sad news, Shannon replies. “Very well Dr. Kalu. I’ll call her right away.” She picks up the phone and dials the number for Claire’s on-call phone.

“Claire? It’s Shannon. I hope you’re close.”

“We made it! Yeah, we’re here. Downstairs, coming up.”

“Okay, stay where you are,” Shannon says, trying to get Claire to slow down.

“No, no no…” Claire replies, thinking Shannon’s misunderstanding her.

“Claire, wait,” Shannon tries to interject.

Ignoring her, Claire continues at a mile a minute, “You’re not going to believe wh-”

“Claire! Chuck has been moved to the bottom of the list. San Jose Presbyterian will be here in a few minutes to pick up the liver.”

Dejected, Claire replies, “yeah?...”

“I’m sorry Claire,” Shannon says.

“Ok, got it,” Claire says before hanging up. She turns to Shaun and says, “Um… Chuck’s been moved to the bottom of the list. San Jose Presbyterian are coming to get the liver.”

Shannon, at the Nurses’ Station, sighs. _That’s not an easy thing to do… That poor family._

\---

Shannon assists Dr. Harmon with Mr. Nuñez’ discharge evaluation and gets him ready to go home. After the room is cleared, Shannon heads back to the Nurses’ Station.

As she sits down and is about to start her charting, an animated Shaun walks up to her. “I removed an embolus from a donor liver in the middle of the highway today, on the back of a police car!” He shares, clearly excited and bouncing on his feet.

Shannon looks away from the computer at him and laughs, “Are you serious? That’s awesome, Shaun!” _I’m impressed… that’s not something you hear about every day_ , she thinks to herself.

“We saved a life today,” he adds.

“Yes you did. It’s a good feeling, isn’t it?”

Shaun bounces a little on his feet. He gives a little hum and stands there thinking for a moment, and then turns around and walks away.

Shannon smiles to herself with a small laugh. _Good for him._

\---

Shannon finishes up another med round and with her final charting done for the night, she gets ready to clock out. She runs into Claire in the locker room.

“Sorry to hear about Chuck, Claire. I know how important that was to you.”

“Yeah. Nothing I can do about it…” Claire says, dejected.

“Hey, if you want to talk about it more, give me a call anytime.”

“Thanks Shannon, I appreciate that,” Claire states, going back to packing her bag.

Shannon smiles at her and turns away to head out.

That evening, Shannon sits in her apartment enjoying a little TV while cuddling with her cats. “Did you guys have a good day today?” she asks them. Receiving a little purring and face-rubbing in reply, she laughs, “Of course you did. You lazy bums.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter didn't have a lot of Shaun/Shannon but I promise we will be getting a lot more of them in the next few chapters. I hope you are all enjoying this story as much as I am! Merry Christmas if you celebrate it! :)


	7. You gotta stick up for yourself, Shaun!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **“Be brave to stand for what you believe in even if you stand alone.” – Roy T. Bennett, _The Light in the Heart_**

Shannon greets her co-workers, “Good morning Nurse Fryday and Nurse Park!” _Just because she’s in a bad mood every morning doesn’t mean I have to be,_ Shannon thinks.

“Nurse Kelly,” Nurse Fryday responds with a nod.

“Morning Nurse Kelly,” Nurse Park responds. “We’ve got a fun one this morning… Melendez and crew are already working… ah, except for Dr. Murphy,” Nurse Park laughs as Shaun runs past the Nurses’ Station, obviously late.

“He’s gonna get in trouble if he keeps being late like that… Melendez doesn’t like to wait around, eh, Nurse Fryday?” Shannon jokes.

Nurse Fryday mumbles in response. Shannon picks up a tablet, smiling. She takes a look at the names and conditions on the list, figuring out which ‘fun one’ that Nurse Park is referring to. _Ah, it’s this one… 22 weeks pregnant with antiphospholipid syndrome… Hmm… poor woman…_ Shannon thinks.

“Alright, enough. Kelly, get an ultrasound in that room for Dr. Melendez. You’re on rounds with his residents today…” Nurse Fryday orders.

Shannon sighs. “Yes ma’am,” she replies, setting off to grab an ultrasound cart from the med storage room. _What’s that saying about honey and vinegar?_ Shannon laughs to herself. She grabs the ultrasound cart and pushes it towards the patient’s room. As she arrives, the doctors are all talking with the patient.

“We need to take a look at the fetus and see how it’s developing,” Dr. Melendez tells the patient and her husband. “When is the last time you had an ultrasound done?”

“Two weeks ago,” the patient states, as Shannon moves the cart around the bed behind Melendez.

“Dr. Browne, do we have those results in the chart?”

“Yes,” she answers Dr. Melendez.

Shannon places the cart next to the head of the bed and plugs in the machine. After she powers it on, she quickly glances to Shaun and notices him watching her. She smiles and turns her head down, taking a step back from the machine.

“Let me know if you need anything else, Dr. Melendez,” Shannon offers, while walking out from behind the bed. She can’t help but quickly glance at Shaun again on her way out.

This time, Claire notices. She smirks to herself as Jared gets the ultrasound going.

A few minutes later, as Shannon is sitting at the Nurses’ Station, she spies Melendez and his residents coming out from the patient’s room. _Oooohhh he looks pissed_ … Shannon can’t help but gawk at the situation unfolding.

“Never contradict me in front of a patient again,” Melendez scolds.

“I didn’t. I agree with your assessment of the risks. I suggested a way we could mitigate them,” Shaun replies, nodding in emphasis.

“Not in front of the patient,” Melendez replies.

“We’re not in front of the patient, now,” Shaun smarts back.

 _Oh no Shaun, don’t push it!_ Shannon thinks.

Thankfully, Claire comes to the rescue to diffuse the situation. “I was just reading about a new technique for transesophageal echocardiography monitoring. If there's a cardiac issue, it would give us an early warning.”

The doctors look amongst themselves, Melendez trying to make a decision. “Let’s get her prepped ASAP,” Melendez decides.

\---

A little while later, the doctors arrive back at the Nurses’ Station where Shannon is reviewing some charts, and finishing up the consent paperwork for the fetus’ tumorectomy. She hears Dr. Melendez orders’ from down the hallway.

“Andrews is covering for Lim in the ER. He has a patient who needs a boil lanced.”

Claire replies, “A plastic surgeon can’t lance a boil?”

“Plastic surgeons can, Chief Surgeons don’t. You and Murphy,” he orders. As they walk up, he grabs the chart Shannon just finished to have him sign off on.

“What!? It was our ideas that convinced you to do the fetal surgery, and now you're punishing us with Andrews' scut work?” Claire rebuts.

 _Ah, c’mon Claire, you know better!_ Shannon thinks, watching the whole thing play out.

Melendez turns around, “You’re not getting punished. He is,” Melendez says, gesturing towards Shaun. “For being late. _Again_.”

 _I knew it,_ Shannon thinks.

“And since I don’t trust him alone with a patient, and… you like to defend him, and seem to know how to communicate with him…” Melendez shrugs. He says, “Hurry back,” and walks away.

 _That asshole…_ is Shannon’s only reaction, she steps out from behind the desk.

Claire looks a little disheartened and walks away frustrated.

Shaun sighs and shrugs and walks off after her. Shannon grabs a tablet and quickly follows after him.

“Shaun!” Shannon says, catching up with him. “Melendez is an asshole and I hate it when he talks over you like that!” She’s clearly frustrated.

He doesn’t reply, lost in thought. Shannon walks with him for a few moments worried from the silent treatment. _Oh, please don’t be upset again… You gotta stick up for yourself, Shaun!_ She falls back a few steps, walking a little behind him. Worried, she keeps quiet. They walk in silence until they enter the patient area. Nurse Fryday is there, too.

Claire walks behind the curtains, “Olivia Hartman?” she asks.

“Yes ma’am... I mean Doctor,” the patient replies.

“You’re 18?” Claire asks.

“Yes ma’am,” she answers.

As they all congregate in the area, Shaun pulls the curtain closed and asks, “Where’s the boil?”

“It’s um… down there…” the patient says tentatively.

“Down where?” asks Shaun.

“Shaun… It’s um, on her labia,” Claire offers, handing the tablet over to Shaun.

“Hmm…” he thinks for a moment. “Is it painful?” he asks.

“Like I used a bowling ball for a tampon,” the patient replies.

Shannon smiles at the young woman, noticing that she’s trying to break the nervous tension with humor. Shaun hands her the tablet to take a look.

“Okay,” Claire replies. “Boils shouldn’t hurt that much. Okay if we take a look?” Claire asks.

The patient nods and Claire goes to sit down on the stool at the end of the bed, lifting up the privacy sheet and pulling back the stirrups from the exam table.

“Okay. If you just scoot down, put your feet in the stirrups. Great,” Claire says.

Shaun moves the instrument cart and light over towards Claire. She puts on gloves and takes a look. “The swelling is fairly localized.”

Shaun steps back over to the side of the bed but inserts, “Extreme pain that’s out of proportion to the visible injury could mean you have necrotizing flesh-eating bacteria," he says, matter-of-factly.

“What!?” the patient replies, in shock.

Claire looks concerned back and forth between the patient and Shaun, surprised at his assumption. “No, this is most likely caused by an untreated chlamydia infection or other STD. We will take some tests to determine exactly what it is and make sure we are treating it right.”

Shannon’s jaw drops a little and she gives Shaun ‘the look’. He must miss it, but he does see Nurse Fryday’s eye roll.

Claire tries to insert the speculum to do the pelvic exam but it hurts the patient too much and her head slams back into the pillow. “Ahhh,” she cries out.

“I’m sorry... I know this hurts but I really do need to insert the speculum for this part of the exam,” Claire says before trying again.

“If I really have what he says, does that mean you have to cut off…”

“No” Claire interrupts. “No, as I said, the abscess is most likely the result of a chlamydia infection...”

Shaun’s eyes get that glassy look and his expression brightens up which Shannon has recognized as him thinking deeply.

Claire continues… “We’ll drain the abscess and give you antibiotics. You’ll be fine.” Claire tries again to insert the speculum but is unsuccessful.

“Ow!” the patient yelps out. “I-I’m sorry,” she says with a head shake, wanting to get this over with.

The result of Shaun’s thought train soon shows itself... “The inflamed Bartholin gland is causing the ischiocavernosus muscle to spasm and pinch the labial nerve.”

Shannon smirks, _I knew it…_ she thinks. Claire looks unhappy.

“You need to start with a more upward angle. Can I try?” Shaun asks.

“I think it’s better if I do this,” Claire responds, trying to hint to Shaun but he doesn’t respond. She tries to insert the speculum yet again.

The patient yelps out in pain again.

Shaun looks back down to Claire, who gives in. “Yeah, okay fine…” Claire says, setting the speculum down and getting up from the stool to allow Shaun to try.

He sits down and puts on gloves as Claire talks to the patient. Nurse Fryday adjusts the light behind him.

“Can we, uh, call your parents? Let them know-” Claire offers, but the patient interrupts.

“No. I’m 18, I’m an adult…”

“Even adults need emotional support. Someone to drive them home after surgery…”

“Uh, I’m going to take a taxi. I have money,” the patient replies.

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Claire adds.

Shaun grabs the speculum from off the cart and states, “25% of college students contract an STD before graduation.”

The patient’s head falls back against the pillow again, but she says, “I’m not embarrassed, I know all about STDs. I get tested every thirty days,” the patient replies, looking at Claire.

Shannon and Nurse Fryday look up at the patient, and Shannon makes eye contact with Claire.

Oblivious, Shaun continues the exam. “There’s no necrosis on the vaginal wall or cervix.”

“You got it in already?” Claire asks, surprised.

Shannon smirks, _Of course he did…_ she thinks.

“Yes,” he replies, smiling. “It’s definitely not flesh-eating bacteria. I was wrong.”

“Thank god,” the patient replies with a sigh.

“You do need surgery to drain the Bartholin gland abscess,” Shaun adds.

“Why do you get an STD test every thirty days?” Claire asks.

“I have to… for work. I do porn,” states the young woman, matter-of-factly.

Claire smiles and nods at the patient. Nurse Fryday looks up from assisting Shaun.

 _Yep, that’s it,_ Shannon thinks.

Shaun removes the speculum and his gloves, and stands up to address the patient. Confidently, he states, “Nurse Fryday and Nurse Kelly will make sure you get scheduled for surgery. Claire and I will order labs and imaging to get you ready for surgery and remove the abscess.”

“Yes, we’ll be back shortly to get that taken care of,” Claire adds.

Shaun and Claire walk out of the patient area as Nurse Fryday cleans up the instruments and Shannon gets more information from the patient in order to print the surgical consent forms.

\---

A short while later, Shannon has a new post-op patient to check on. “Good evening, Mr. Matar. How are you feeling?” she asks, walking into the room.

“A little dizzy…”

“Yeah, that’s the pain medication they gave you… Have you ever taken morphine before?” She asks. She notates the chart on her tablet and sets it down on the foot of the bed, grabbing some gloves.

“No, no… I don’t think so…”

“Alright, I’m going to lay the bed down to help you with your dizziness.” Shannon adjusts the bed so the patient is laying flat. She removes the blanket so she can do an exam, “I’m going to check your surgical site, alright?”

The patient nods. He just had his gall bladder removed, so Shannon opens the patient’s gown. Immediately, she notices his chest is flushed with hives, and she grabs her phone to page one of the surgeons. “Surgical consult in room 403 STAT,” she says to the phone. She notices the surgical site is a little weepy and the patient’s breathing is slightly labored.

“Are you having trouble breathing, Mr. Matar?” she asks the patient.

“A little… not really…”

Shannon uses her penlight and checks the man’s eyes and asks him to open his mouth. “Say Aahhh…”

The man complies, and she notices his tonsils are swollen. “Alright sir, I’m going to give you some epinephrine, it seems you’re having a bad reaction to the morphine.”

Just then, Shaun comes into the room. Shannon looks back to see who it is.

“Dr. Murphy, the patient is having an anaphylactic and skin reaction to the morphine, I’m going to grab an epi pen and a saline flush…” She heads out the door in a rush, handing Shaun her tablet on the way out.

“Mr. Matar, you just had surgery to remove your gallbladder, yes?” he asks the patient.

“Yes…” the patient replies, sighing.

“Hmm… let me take a look,” he replies, donning gloves. He begins to check the surgical site.

Just then, Shannon runs back in. “Mr. Matar, I’m going to give you a shot in your leg, and then I’m going to put you on some saline to try to help you metabolize the morphine faster.” Shannon removes the epi pen cap and sticks it into his thigh. She then hangs the IV bag of saline and inserts it into the IV on his arm. “Sorry, this is a little cold.” She checks the machine to make sure it’s flowing correctly.

“The surgical site is a little tender, yes?” Shaun asks the patient.

“Yeah, that hurts…” he replies.

“Nurse Kelly, has the patient been given post-op antibiotics?” Shaun asks her.

She removes her gloves and tosses them in the trash. She picks up the tablet that Shaun discarded to check. “Yes, he was given a standard round of penicillin.”

“I’m concerned about the surgical incision, Mr. Matar. I’m going to have Nurse Kelly here draw some blood just to make sure,” Shaun instructs. “Please order a CBC Nurse Kelly, and give him some acetaminophen and midazolam for the pain.” he tells her. “Nurse Kelly will take care of you,” he tells the patient before taking off his gloves, tossing them in the trash, and heading out the door.

“Are you still dizzy Mr. Matar?” she asks him, notating his chart in her tablet.

“No, I think I feel a little better.”

“Very well. I’m going to go grab the stuff so I can draw your blood, and I’ll be back. Use your call button if you feel light-headed. I’ll be back in just a minute.” Shannon quickly heads out the door and grabs a butterfly needle and lavender vial from the med cart in the hallway.

Shannon heads back into the room to do the blood draw. She puts gloves on again and ties the tourniquet around his arm. “This is going to pinch a little bit,” she says as she finds a vein and inserts the butterfly needle. Shannon grabs the vial and pushes it into the collection chamber and releases the tourniquet. She removes the vial and grabs a cotton ball, pressing it down on the site before slowly removing the butterfly needle. “There we go.” She grabs some self-adhering wrap from her pocket and wraps it around his arm. “All done, Mr. Matar. We’ll get the lab work done ASAP and I’ll make sure Dr. Murphy looks at the results. Don’t be afraid to use that call button if you don’t feel well!” Shannon smiles at the patient as she throws away her gloves and puts the used needles in the red needles box on the wall.

“Yes ma’am,” the patient replies, a little groggily.

“I’ll be back to give you some different pain meds here in a little bit,” she replies before heading back out to the Nurses’ Station where Shaun is doing some charting. She approaches him, and stands next to him for a moment. Noticing that other doctors are present she speaks to him formally, “That blotchy redness and cloudy weeping was concerning me, Dr. Murphy, thanks for the quick response to my page.”

“Yes, you caught that reaction in time Nurse Kelly. Let me know what the labs say. His surgical site is concerning,” he replies, also recognizing the formality of the situation.

“I will.” Shannon quickly notates the chart and heads down to the lab, turning in the blood for testing.

\---

After about thirty minutes, Shannon gets notification on her tablet that the lab work is ready and she informs Shaun. “Dr. Murphy, the labs for Mr. Matar are ready.” Nurse Fryday watches her, eyes beady, as she speaks to him.

“Hmm… alright.” Shaun looks over the chart on the computer he’s at as Shannon also checks them on her tablet. “Well, they look alright for now, but I want the tests re-ordered in the morning. Let the night shift nurses know to make sure that he has adequate pain relief and to re-draw in the morning.” He makes a few notes in the chart.

“Very well,” Shannon notates the chart, as well.

Ignoring others and dropping that formality, he says gently, “Have a good night, Shannon."

“You too, Shaun,” she replies with a smile. She holds his gaze for a moment before looking back down to the chart, still smiling to herself.

With a nod, he walks away from the Nurses’ Station, bouncing a little, now very aware of the sweet smile she always gives him. His mind runs a mile a minute walking himself through all the things that her smiles can mean, considering the intentions behind each of them. He makes a mental note to ask Claire about possible intentions of smiling.

Shannon finishes her charting for the night, smiling to herself throughout, and relays Shaun’s instructions to the night shift nurses before heading home for the evening. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're still enjoying my story! After seeing the promos for the upcoming shows it looks like Shaun is going on an adventure which will be a lot of fun to write about! :) Happy New Year! Here's to a happy 2018!


	8. Never been kissed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **“A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.” – Elbert Hubbard**

The next morning, Shannon stops by the café to get a muffin and a cup of tea, as she had not gone shopping to replenish her groceries having been exhausted from going out with Alysha the night before. She comes in the café entrance rather than the employee entrance and notices Dr. Glassman and Shaun having breakfast, walking past them towards the cafeteria area and cashier. “Good morning Dr. Glassman,” she says, nodding. “Shaun,” she gives a small smile as she nods at him.

Shaun smiles back, looking up at her, “Good morning, Shannon,” he replies. His gaze lingers on her face for a moment and follows her for a few steps. Then he looks back down at his plate, trying to avoid Glassman’s gaze.

Shannon continues on to grab her tea and muffin.

“You’re on a first-name basis with Nurse Kelly?” Glassman asks Shaun, a little incredulously.

“Yes. Her first name is Shannon. She is very nice,” Shaun nods up and down as he’s speaking to him, not looking at him directly.

Glassman had noticed that Shaun looked directly at Shannon, and also that he blushed a little. His curiosity is peaked, to say the least. “She seems very nice. Do you two talk often?”

“I have only been here for four days,” Shaun laughs cynically, still avoiding his gaze. “Nurse Fryday is not nice to her in the way that Dr. Melendez is not nice to me.” He takes the final bite of pancake from his plate.

“Ah, I see…” Glassman replies. “I’m glad that you’re making friends here, Shaun.” He looks over to where he sees Shannon paying the cashier and decides he should chat with her later.

“Yes, Shannon is a good friend.” Checking the time, Shaun pushes his plate away and stands up. “I must go clock in before Dr. Melendez gets mad. Thank you for breakfast.” Shaun nods repeatedly and grabs his backpack and jacket, heading towards the hospital.

“Have a good day Shaun,” Glassman replies.

Shaun nods and walks briskly towards the hospital. As he gets closer to the cafeteria area, he spots Shannon up ahead of him and jogs to catch up.

Shannon is steeping her tea bag and adding some raw sugar to her to-go cup, stirring it with a wooden stirrer. She hears someone approaching and turns to look.

“Hello Shannon,” Shaun says.

“Hi Shaun, whatsup?” she replies, happily, smiling widely as she throws her stirrer and receipt away.

“Nothing, I just wanted to say hello again.” He returns the smile, albeit in his own manner.

“Very well, you can walk me up to the locker room.”

“Yes, I would like to walk you to the locker room,” he repeats.

“You were having breakfast with Dr. Glassman… do you do that very often...” Shannon asks, trying not to phrase things in the form of a question.

“Yes, we have breakfast. He buys me pancakes.”

“Pancakes are yummy! You should come over some time and I will make you pancakes…” Shannon blurts out as they enter the elevator. She immediately blanches, realizing what she just accidentally implied. She hesitates entering for a moment, unable to see the look on Shaun’s face as he enters and hits the button to the 3rd floor. _Shit shit shit shit…_ she thinks. “Oh… well… I mean I have this recipe that’s very good…” she rambles, trying to correct herself.

“Yes, that would be nice. I love pancakes,” Shaun replies, unfazed. The elevator door shuts, the both of them looking straight ahead at the polished silver doors.

 _Yeah… I forgot who I was talking to there for a moment… No shit Shannon,_ she thinks before replying, recognizing that Shaun probably doesn’t pick up on the double entendre of things - and she definitely didn’t mean it to have another meaning either. “Well, you can come over any time for pancakes… As long as you don’t mind cats. I have two cats.” She smiles, thinking of her little girls. “Would you like to see a picture of them?” She says, lifting her phone up to unlock it as they ascend in the elevator.

“No. No, but I will come for pancakes. Cats are fine, too.”

“Good,” Shannon says, ignoring her phone per his response as the elevator door opens. They walk in silence for a few moments, then they arrive at the Inpatient ward.

“We are friends, aren’t we, Shannon?” Shaun asks abruptly, stopping before entering the locker room.

Shannon stops to turn and face him directly. “Yes, I believe so… that is, if you want to be my friend, Shaun?”

“Yes. I am your friend. Dr. Glassman was asking questions about it is all. I wanted to make sure next time I have an accurate answer for him.” Shaun nervously plays with the straps on his backpack.

“Wait - does Dr. Glassman not want you to have friends?” she asks.

“Hmmm… I don’t know… He wants me to get a personal aide, but I said no. I don’t need an aide.”

“Well, from what I can tell  _in my very limited capacity_ , he cares about you Shaun. But if you say you don’t need an aide, then you don’t need an aide.”

Shaun mumbles, thinking for a moment. He appreciates her support more than she would ever know.

Shannon continues walking after a moment of silence, heading into the locker room. He follows her, subtly smiling to himself.

“Hand me your phone, Shaun. I’ll put my number in it,” Shannon offers as she sets down her bag on the bench and puts her hand out.

Shaun digs in his pocket and hands her his phone. Shannon adds her phone number to his contact list. “You say you don’t need an aide, but if you ever need a friend, feel free to call or text me,” she hands his phone back to him. “Or if you want to come over for pancakes,” she laughs slightly and goes to open the lock on her locker.

Shaun studies his phone as if something magical has happened to it, but only for a moment before he recovers. Then, he studies Shannon as she puts her things away in her locker, and after a few moments he goes to do the same, putting his phone back in his pocket.

She finishes putting her stuff away quickly and shuts her locker, locking it. “See you around, Shaun,” she says, giving him a little smile as she backs away from him towards the timeclock.

“See you around, Shannon,” he mimics.

She swipes her card and heads out the door. Shaun watches her leave.

\---

“Kelly, you’re with me on this surgery. Don’t be an idiot in front of Dr. Andrews… he’s the future President of the hospital, and I want a raise at the end of this year…” Nurse Fryday snaps at her, as if her raises are dependent upon Shannon’s performance.

 _Whatever_ , she thinks. “Yes ma’am,” Shannon replies, not wanting to argue. Shannon is also looking forward to her first surgical nursing assist. She has a feeling that Claire had something to do with that particular honor.

Nurse Fryday and Shannon prep the consent paperwork for the patient that needs surgery to remove the Bartholin gland abscess. Dr. Andrews comes over to the Nurses’ Station with Claire and Shaun in tow. “I want this quick and easy, Nurse Fryday.”

“Yes sir. Nurse Kelly will be assisting me,” she says, gesturing at Shannon.

Dr. Andrews nods in the direction of Shannon. “Shannon Kelly, sir,” she replies, introducing herself. She puts her hand out and he responds, so she gives him a firm handshake and a moment of direct eye contact. She doesn’t miss Shaun’s interested bouncing over the shoulder of Dr. Andrews. Smiling, she looks at Shaun for a moment, then back at Dr. Andrews.

Claire also notices Shaun’s reaction to Shannon. She smirks to herself.

“The OR is scheduled for 7:30am, so let’s get moving,” Dr. Andrews replies, heading off with Claire and Shaun.

Nurse Fryday and Shannon head to the patient’s room, getting the paperwork signed and informing the patient of the procedure. The doctors arrive shortly after where the patient is awaiting them.

“Hello, I am Dr. Andrews," he offers his hand out to the patient and shakes hers. "Nurse Fryday and Nurse Kelly are here to get you ready for surgery. I will be leading the surgery and Dr. Browne and Dr. Murphy will be assisting. As I think the nurses have explained to you, we will put you under general anesthesia to put you to sleep while they do the procedure. This is done in order to lessen the pain for you. We will drain the abscess, pack it, and take you out from under anesthesia. Do you have any questions?” he asks.

“No,” the patient nervously replies.

“Very well. Sign off on the paperwork and we will get you into the surgical suite,” Nurse Fryday instructs, stepping forward with the clipboard and pen.

\---

“Alright, let’s get started,” Dr. Andrews states.

Shannon stands beside the patient as she charts for the surgery. Claire and Shaun are at either side of Dr. Andrews, and Nurse Fryday is behind him, making sure he has adequate lighting.

“Retraction,” Dr. Andrews states. Shaun hands him an instrument. “I’ll make the incision, and then I want you to insert the Word Catheter," he tells Claire. “Good job with the pelvic exam Dr. Murphy. With all the swelling, it couldn’t have been easy…”

Shaun smiles, “Thank you.”

Claire looks at Dr. Andrews, “How did you know?”

Dr. Andrews states seriously, “Oh, I have my ways… like Santa.”

Shannon laughs a little.

“I told him,” Nurse Fryday replies, smirking.

 _Party pooper,_ Shannon thinks, also smirking.

“Hm… no presents for you,” Dr. Andrews replies. “Insert the drain,” he instructs Claire.

Shaun hands him an empty syringe for aspiration of the abscess.

“But I’m curious. How can a guy who can’t even shake his co-worker’s hand be comfortable doing a pelvic exam?”

Shannon can’t help but gasp inaudibly at the statement.  _Dang..._ _What a loaded question..._

Shaun, handling the question like a pro, looks off into the distance, “People squeeze too hard. It hurts.”

Claire happens to look up at Shannon, and notices her expression - mouth agape.

Dr. Andrews hands a swab to Shaun and presses it into the plastic sheathing, stating, “Send this to the lab for culture.” He then lightens up, “So I’m guessing you’re not that into hugs.”

Shaun looks up for a moment, replying, “I don’t like to be squeezed.”

Shannon, Claire, and Nurse Fryday are all intently listening to the conversation - completely enthralled at the conversational transaction.

“Well, what if it’s somebody you like? Or somebody you love? Have you ever had a girlfriend?” Dr. Andrews asks.

Shaun looks at him for a moment, unsure if to respond, but he does. “I almost kissed a girl... once.”

Shannon’s heart breaks instantaneously… _Never been kissed, the poor man…_ Her heart aches for him. Claire is taken aback, but recovers to notice the despondent look on Shannon’s face… Shannon's Disney-like eyes big and bright, face pained. Shannon's heart goes out to him.

“Well, you know what they say… if at first you don’t succeed…” Dr. Andrews replies.

Shaun stares directly at him, and then looks away. “Are you trying to mock me or encourage me?” he asks in a serious, matter-of-fact manner.

Dr. Andrews replies, "I'm trying to get to know you so I know when I should mock and when I should encourage.”

“When should I mock you?” Shaun asks straightforwardly.

Shannon snorts a little and Claire can’t help but break a smile, hoping Dr. Andrews doesn’t notice.

Shaun leans in to snip a stitch, and Dr. Andrews says, “Press harder on that abscess. It should have drained by now.”

“Something’s wrong,” Claire states. “The gland’s evacuated but the swelling’s not going down.”

“Heart rate and BP are stable,” Shaun adds after having looked up at the vital signs monitor.

Shannon makes notes in her chart.

“Can I get a little more light, please?” Dr. Andrews asks.

Nurse Fryday moves closer with the light.

“Damn,” Dr. Andrews states.

“What is it?” Shaun asks, curiously.

Dr. Andrews points at the surgical area with his pinky finger, “The swelling isn't going down because there's a mass beneath the abscess. And it's not just pressing on the pudendal nerve It's totally engulfed it.”

Shaun states the obvious, “That’s bad.”

“Very bad,” Dr. Andrews replies. “Alright, let’s get her cleaned up and woken up, we need to inform the patient that further surgery is needed. Claire, you take over and finish up. I’ll go speak with Melendez.” Dr. Andrews backs up from the surgical area, taking off his face mask and gloves.

Claire stands up to get ready, putting on gloves and a mask as Dr. Andrews leaves. She begins to remove the Word catheter and puts in a single stitch to close up the cut that was opened to gain access to the Bartholin gland. Claire works steadily and confidently.

Shaun interrupts the silence. “Why is hugging someone related to shaking someone’s hand? I thought that hugging someone was something that you do when you love them?” he asks Claire, ignoring the fact that Shannon is standing there aside Nurse Fryday.

Claire responds, “Some people hug others just like they would a handshake. There are friendly hugs and romantic hugs, too.”

“Oh,” Shaun replies. He stays silent, thinking.

Shannon almost dares to ask Shaun again about never having been kissed, but she quashes that thought, too sad for her to comprehend. _All because people don’t think people with Autism want the same things in their lives as anyone else…_ she thinks. _God, people suck._

They finish up the surgery and the anesthesiologist wakes up the patient. Shannon and Nurse Fryday head back to the Nurses’ Station to finish up some charting.

\---

Shannon is having her lunch in the cafe, blissfully enjoying some funny videos whilst eating her sandwich and salad. Unbeknownst to her, Dr. Glassman had been doing a little snooping. He approaches her. “Hello, Nurse Kelly?” he asks, assertively but politely.

Startled, she sits up straight and looks up at him. She immediately puts down her sandwich and swallows her bite of salad and puts her phone down, recognizing the president of the hospital standing before her. “Yes, Dr. Glassman, Hello! Can I help you with something?...” she says in a rush.

“No, no, I just wanted to chat…” he replies, authoritatively, but kind.

“Oh, uhm… Okay! Take a seat,” she offers.

He pulls out the chair across from her and takes a seat. “Yes, well, I just noticed that you and Shaun seem to have struck up a friendship, and well, I’m concerned you may not understand the impact that may have on him…?” He looks at Shannon with genuine concern, but it bothers her slightly.

“Yes sir, I think we are friendly to each other… Is… is there a problem?” she asks, extremely nervous for some reason…  _probably because the president of the hospital you work at is grilling you about your friendship with someone he cares about,_ she thinks.

“No… there’s no problem, I just want to make sure everything is on the up-and-up?”

“Sir, I’m not quite sure what you mean ‘on the up-and-up’? I mean, I understand what the phrase means but I don’t quite know how you’re expecting me to respond…” She sits up a little straighter in her chair. "Yes... I'm friends with Shaun... is that a problem?"

“Well, it’s difficult for Shaun to make friends… understandably so, but … Hmm…” he clears his throat. “I don’t know if he’s ever had many close friends. I just want to make sure that the social workplace won’t prevent him from achieving his potential… as it were…”

Shannon thinks of how to respond - a little disturbed by the whole thing - and in a rare moment of brazen confidence she asks, “Dr. Glassman, do you always question Shaun’s potential friends? Or is there something specific that I’ve done that you disagree with?...”

Dr. Glassman’s face goes blank for a moment, and Shannon panics.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with that, I’m just curious… Sir,” she replies, trying to cover her ass speaking so frankly to a superior.

“No, Shannon, I don’t… I am just concerned for his success here and during his residency. He has many naysayers and if I’m completely honest, I am worried. He’s a sensitive man and in a precarious position. I care about his success and wellbeing.”

“So do I Dr. Glassman. Shaun is a brilliant, caring, wonderful individual, and I appreciate his friendship.” She smiles gently.

Dr. Glassman considers her smile for a moment. “Well then, I’m sorry to have interrupted your lunch Nurse Kelly. Thank you for being so frank with me.”

“You’re welcome Dr. Glassman, but please, call me Shannon if we're speaking on terms of my friendship with Shaun. I can tell you care about him very much.” 

“Thank you Shannon. Have a good day,” he says, getting up from his chair. Nodding and smiling at her, he walks way.

 _Damnit fuck shit piss motherfucker… What the fuck did I do to get on his radar? Not good… not good Shannon… fuck._ Her curse-ridden thoughts consume her so much that she doesn’t quite finish her food before needing to head back upstairs to clock in. She soaks in the implications of the conversation. As she thinks about Shaun in the middle of all of this, her thoughts abruptly change from the offensive to the defensive. On her walk up, all she can do is give herself a pep talk about ignoring Dr. Glassman’s awkward interference.  _Shaun is a grown man. People just need to leave him be... The man doesn't need helicopter parents all over him all the time, good god..._

\---

The rest of Shannon’s day passes uneventfully. Checking on labs here, charting there, another med pass…

She ends up not seeing Shaun for the rest of the day, which was slightly, _surprisingly_ , disappointing to her. Which may - or may not - have been completely okay because she's not sure she would have been able to face him after the encounter with Dr. Glassman. She utterly drowns in conflicting thoughts on her drive home from work.

As she arrives home for the evening, Shannon greets her precious kittens as they meet her at the door. “Hi girls… yes, I’ll feed you… give me a minute.” Shannon laughs to herself as she sets down her things and takes off her shoes. She feeds the cats before feeding herself, making a quick microwave dinner and sitting down in front of the TV for the evening. She turns on Hulu to catch up on her latest shows.

Shannon falls asleep on the couch, not realizing how tired she is. She only notices she had fallen asleep when her phone rings loudly. She doesn’t notice the number, but recognizes the local area code. Knowing it wouldn't be a telemarketer at the late hour... “Hello?” she answers, awkwardly, just having been awoken from sleep.

“I can’t find my screwdriver… I know I have it somewhere, but I can’t find it," a voice says; breathily, anxiously, familiar.

“Shaun? Is that you?” she asks, a little confused.

“Yes. Hello Shannon, it’s Shaun Murphy. I can’t find my screwdriver,” he replies, obviously anxious and repeating himself, speaking quickly as if in a panic.

She takes a moment to awaken, rubbing her eyes. She sits up and replies, “Where was the last place you had it?”

“I don’t know… I don’t know…” he repeats. Shannon can hear him rustling through his things, noises in the background tell her that he's in a panic.

“Shaun, listen to me…” Shannon offers. “I’m not going to tell you to calm down because that won’t help, but can you just take a moment and take a deep breath to think about where you had it last?”

Shaun pauses for a moment as if listening to her advice, but then continues rustling his things. “I should call Dr. Glassman.”

Shannon notices her advice went unwarranted. “If he will help you with this, then yes, maybe you should call him,” she replies.

“Yes, I will call him. Goodnight Shannon.” Without waiting for a reply, he hangs up on her.

Shannon, mouth agape about to reply, shuts her mouth and sighs. Disappointed but understanding, she programs Shaun’s number into her phone. She sighs again, her head falling back onto the couch pillows. _I should have helped, I could have helped more… I hope you find your screwdriver Shaun,_ she thinks before letting out another big sigh and getting up off the couch. Stiff, she stretches deeply before heading for bed.

Still disappointed and a little worried, she considers texting Shaun to make sure he’s alright. She ultimately decides against it. After a little bit of worrying, tossing back and forth in the warm sheets of her queen size bed, she falls back asleep, comfortably tucked in with Chloe and Cassie on either side of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all, I'm sure you're just all anxiously awaiting the return of our favorite show just as I am... I don't know how I'm going to survive the summer lol! Enjoy!!
> 
> P.S. I'm sad that the cats in the show aren't recurring characters :(


	9. Stupid doctors and their stupid doctor ways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.” – C.G. Jung**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **DISCLAIMER: Don't drink and drive guys- buzzed driving is drunk driving.** It's mentioned in this chapter and the next, but seriously Shannon is (will be) okay to drive. Speaking from experience, the low ABV of the cider with a tall glass of water and having recently had a meal wouldn't make someone who drinks beer on a semi-regular basis buzzed... but it might make the cheeks a little pink. (Although the blushing may be from something else...)

Shannon arrives at work and clocks in as usual, greeting the other nurses. As she sits down to the computer to start looking at charts Shaun goes jogging by the Nurses Station. She laughs to herself for a moment before she takes a look at the night nurses’ notes for the young woman’s surgery to remove the pudendal nerve tumor.

“Kelly, get in there and assist Dr. Andrews and crew. You’ll be prepping the patient for surgery before doing med rounds today,” Nurse Fryday tells Shannon.

“You got it.” Shannon grabs a tablet and heads over to the patient’s room. She hears Shaun rambling off about something and he sounds excited about it. _He’s always got something up his sleeve…_ she thinks, smiling as she walks into the room quietly, tablet in hand.

“...We can connect the distal end of the pudendal nerve to the branch of the femoral cutaneous nerve from her inner thigh.” Shaun hands over a medical journal for Dr. Andrews to take a look at. Speaking to the patient, he continues, “Would you rather lose feeling in your thigh or genitals?” he asks her.

“Thigh, definitely,” she replies, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

Shaun points and puts his hands together in celebration, as if to say ‘ _That’s what I thought’._

The patient asks incredulously, “Is he right? Can we do that?”

Dr. Andrews replies, speaking to Shaun first, “It probably would've been better to discuss this prior to meeting with the patient, but, yes, I think it could work.” In a moment of kindness, he smiles down to the patient, hopeful.

The young woman smiles up gleefully at Shaun, recognizing exactly how he just saved her sex life.

Shaun’s hands come together again, and he looks back at Shannon and smiles.

 _Way to go, Shaun_ , Shannon thinks, smiling back at him as if to send him the silent message. She figures she’d give him two enthusiastic thumbs up if Dr. Andrews wasn’t here.

Dr. Andrews continues, “Nurse Kelly will get you ready for surgery. Give us a little while to prepare, but in the meantime she can write up the consent forms.”

Shannon smiles at the patient and nods, then takes a few notes on her tablet as Dr. Andrews continues, “So… We will make an incision in the crease of your inner thigh so hopefully there won’t be a lot of scarring.” He pauses and nods in Shaun’s direction, “As Shaun mentioned, we will be removing the fibroid tumor and about four inches of the pudendal nerve, which we will then do a nerve graft with the femoral cutaneous nerve. We will test to make sure the nerve conducts properly and then get you stitched back up. Do you have any questions?”

“So, I won’t be able to feel my thigh, but I’ll be able to feel my genitals?”

“Yes, that is the hope,” Dr. Andrews replies. “The inside of your thigh will no longer have sensation, but I think this is a good alternative, yes?”

Claire nods and smiles at the patient, reassuring her.

“Yes, of course!” the patient replies.

“Alright then, we’ll go get ready for surgery and Nurse Kelly will get _you_ ready for it. See you soon,” he adds, before starting to walk away, Claire and Shaun leading the way.

“That guy just saved my sex life,” the patient says, smiling and sighing in relief, her head falling back on the pillow.

“Yes, I know. Dr. Murphy is brilliant…” Shannon replies, also smiling and slightly proud of him. “I’m going to go draw up the consent paperwork for the surgery, and I’ll be back soon. Let us know if you need anything.”

“Alright.”

Shannon smiles and nods at the patient in goodbye and goes to leave the room.

Shaun is waiting for her as she steps out of the room and turns a corner, surprising her. “You really think I’m brilliant, Shannon?”

She laughs, “Do you listen to all of my conversations, Shaun? Or only the ones when I compliment you?” She continues laughing.

Shaun tilts his head a little, confused at her laughing, but replies to the question after a moment of hesitation. “I don’t listen to all your conversations…”

Shannon, still lightly laughing, “I know Shaun, I was joking. Yes. I think you are a brilliant doctor with great ideas. You heard the girl - you saved her sex life.”

“If it works,” he replies.

“It will work _Dr. Murphy_ … you know it will,” Shannon smiles, and reaches out to pat him on the arm, but at the last moment remembers that he doesn’t like to be touched, and pulls her hand back. She hesitates and continues walking away.

Shaun stands there for a moment, smiling at himself and at the compliment that Shannon gave him, recognizing the profoundness of the complement that he wasn’t meant to know about… Shaun continues to follow her down the hallway. Stopping her again with conversation, he says, “Thank you for taking my call last night... I was upset.”

She stops and turns around to speak with him. “Yes, I knew you were upset Shaun. I’m sorry I couldn’t help more. Did you find your screwdriver?” Shannon asks earnestly.

“Yes. Well, actually, Dr. Glassman found it.” He looks down, ashamedly shifting in his stance, hands wringing, a little embarrassed. “It was in the refrigerator. I was trying to fix the crisper drawer and I forgot it in there.”

Shannon offers him a smile. “I’m glad you found it then.”

He doesn’t smile back, but speaks again after a moment of hesitating nervousness… “I’m sorry I called you so late… I think you were asleep. But you said that if I need a friend I could call…”

“Yes, I was sleeping, and yes, you can call me if you need a friend. _Anytime_. That’s what friends are for,” Shannon says simply. _I mean who doesn’t need a good friend to call at any hour of the day or night…_ She stands there, completely in awe of this man’s honesty and humility. She feels confident enough to share something about herself in the way that he had, “Don’t worry about it, Shaun. I was asleep on the couch and I needed to get up and get in bed.”

“Oh. Well, then I’m glad I woke you up so you could go to sleep in your bed.” He nods and gives her a slight smile. The conversation over, he walks away.

Shannon smiles and shakes her head for a moment, thinking, _Well an end to a conversation like that is about as best as one could hope for!_ She laughs to herself again, pleased with her budding friendship with Dr. Murphy. She continues charting as she walks over to the Nurses Station.

\---

After the surgery is over, Shannon is on med rounds for her other patients in the Inpatient ward. She’s in the hallway at her med cart charting for her next patient.

Claire finds her as she’s on her way to the Doctor’s Lounge. “The patient is in recovery - you’ll be happy to know that Shaun’s idea worked perfectly…” she tells Shannon. “I’m surprised he didn’t come running to tell you about it…” She smirks at Shannon.

“Oh man, that’s great!” Shannon replies. Then, her excited expression drops as she notices the look on Claire’s face. “Don’t give me that face, Claire…”

“What?! Do you think I’m seriously that stupid? I see what’s happening...” Claire laughs. “You two smiling back and forth at each other all the time. It’s at the eye-rolling stage now but it is quickly snowballing into the vomit-inducing stage Shannon...”

“ _Ha. Ha._ ” Shannon replies, sarcastically. “I’m just encouraging him. He needs someone to believe in him, don’t you think? He’s not getting it from Melendez, that’s for sure.”

“Yeah, I know... Shaun’s really opening up and coming into his own lately… I think your _encouragement_ is playing a part in that...” Claire continues laughing lightly.

“Whatever Claire… think what you want… but Shaun smiling at me doesn’t mean anything,” Shannon replies seriously, but her heart stops and her face falls for a split second... _Does it?_ she thinks… _Oh shit…_ “You don’t think…” Shannon replies; her face blanches a little.

“Yes, I do think... You’d better figure this out Shannon...”

“Oh no,” Shannon replies.

“I’ll leave you to that... let’s take a break later and we can talk more. I’ll text you,” Claire replies. “I’ve gotta get changed and get back to the patient. Don’t worry Shannon, it’ll be okay.” Claire pats her on the shoulder, smiling, and heads towards the Doctor’s Lounge.

 _Oh no,_ Shannon thinks… _Seriously, a week into your new job and your coworkers think you’re falling for someone? Stupid, stupid, stupid..._

After finishing her rounds, she locks up her med cart and returns to the Nurses Station to complete her end-of-day charting.

\---

After a little while, Shaun walks up. “My idea worked,” is all he says.

“Yes, I know! Claire told me. Way to go Shaun!” she says, _encouragingly._ Shannon holds her hand up for a high-five.

He hesitates for a moment before gently slapping her hand, giving her the high-five. “Thank you for having confidence in my idea. I had confidence too, but it feels good coming from someone else.”

“You’re very welcome, Shaun.” Shannon smiles at him as he walks away. _Did he just walk over here to tell me that his idea worked?… Damnit Claire you’d better not be right about this..._ Shannon gets seriously distracted from her work for a few moments. She thinks back to how her and Shaun interact, and considers the consequences of what Claire thinks is happening...

\---

About an hour or so later, Claire walks up to the Nurses Station with Jared and Shaun in tow. “Shannon, you’re coming with us - we’re going out for a drink.”

“Oh no I’m not... I’m not being some fourth wheel to you guys’ awesome doctor party... You guys go and have fun,” Shannon replies, vigorously shaking her head.

Shaun listens attentively, gauging her reaction in anticipation.

“Not a fourth wheel…” Claire looks seriously at Shannon and tilts her head back at Shaun quickly in a gesture towards him.

Shannon notices Shaun looking at her. She spies him trying to interpret her reaction… “Really guys, what docs want to hang out with a stupid nurse like me...” Shannon laughs at her silly statement.

Shaun can’t help but interject, “You’re not a stupid nurse! You’re a smart nurse, and you’re our friend. They are making me go so that means you have to go, too.”

Claire discreetly winks at Shannon as she says, “There ya go. The final verdict. We’re heading to Crowley’s… Meet us there!”

“Guys!” Shannon tries to object, but Jared and Claire have already started walking off, laughing. Shaun stays behind for a moment and smiles and gives a small celebratory wave to Shannon before he heads off after them. “Damn,” Shannon states after they’re gone. “Damnit all to hell,” she repeats. _Stupid doctors and their stupid doctor ways_ , she thinks, still grumbling to herself.

She quickly finishes up by logging out of the computer and clocking out, cursing to herself the entire way, needing to head home to change. _I’m not some fancy-schmancy doctor who brings a change of clothes to work every day… and I’m_ NOT _going to the bar in my scrubs..._ _Damnit Claire!_ She thinks to herself on the short drive home.

Shannon changes quickly and puts on a little makeup... _Just eyeshadow and mascara, Shannon. It’s just a drink with friends_... and heads back out to meet up with them. She texts Claire as she walks to her car.

  * “On my way!”



“Shaun’s getting impatient…”

  * “Well I shouldn’t be coming in the first place”



“No, Shannon, you need this, he needs this, we all need to hang out and celebrate”

  * “Fine, I’ll be there in 10”



And as promised, about ten minutes later Shannon arrives and easily finds some street parking. She heads into the bar, looking for her friends. After a few moments of searching, she spots Claire waving at her, trying to get her attention. She waves back and works her way through the crowd towards their table.

Shaun watches her as she approaches, noticing how different she looks as he’s never seen her in anything other than scrubs. Rather, Shannon’s wearing a purple v-neck fitted sweater and dark bootcut jeans. Shaun notices that she carries herself differently and assumes it’s the shoes she’s wearing - he can’t see her shoes yet because there are people between them - he’s only ever seen her in her work sneakers.

He quickly realizes that he is intrigued in the way she looks and acts, and finds himself nervous. Still, he continues to study her as she approaches - the crowd is heavy as she works her way over to their table. Shannon’s wavy hair cascades down to her mid-back, the top half of it pulled back, silver earrings dangling from her ears. Shaun notices them bouncing as she walks.

As she gets closer, he notices her eyes have the gentlest of makeup on them, making her eyes just a bit more striking. He can’t help but be a little shocked and surprised - impressed… He can’t quite think of how to respond or react; his breath hitches.

Claire watches Shaun react to watching Shannon make her way through the crowd towards them, and even Jared can’t help but notice him staring. Jared makes eye contact with Claire and his eyebrows go up in surprise. Quickly, Claire gives him a wide-eyed head shake, warning him to not bother them.

“Hi guys!” Shannon says as she walks up to the table… “Sorry I’m late… you know I don’t have fancy doctor clothes in my locker like you guys do…” she laughs. “I’ll go grab myself a drink, what are you guys having?”

Jared says, “I just got some IPAs - they’re having a happy hour special on drafts.”

“Awesome! I’ll be right back,” Shannon says, walking off to the bar to get herself something to drink.

Shaun watches her go, still in awe. He turns back to Claire and Jared who are watching him.

“Murphy, you’ve got it bad for her,” Jared says, poking fun at him. Claire kicks him under the table and he winces, looking at her sternly.

“Got it bad? What does that mean, ‘got it bad’?” Shaun asks.

“Nothing, Shaun, just ignore him… So… Jared, tell us about the surgery,” Claire replies, trying to change the subject.

Ignoring Jared explaining his surgery, Shaun takes a few moments to consider their statement. He concludes that it has something to do with Shannon, but he can’t think of what. He reminds himself to ask Claire more about it later.

After ordering her drink, Shannon walks back over to the table. She smiles at Shaun as she approaches him. It takes her longer than normal to get up on the barstool and she’s too short to enjoy being up on it, so she just laughs at herself as Shaun watches her. "I hate barstools," she mutters to herself. When Claire and Jared pause in their conversation, she lifts up her glass in toast. “Hey guys, great job today! Thanks for inviting me...”

They all clink glasses and take a drink, except for Shaun, who just places his glass down and watches the others as they take their drink.

“Ya know, in Germany you’re supposed to make eye contact with the person you’re clinking glasses with or else it’s bad luck...” Shannon says after finishing her sip.

Jared says, “Luckily enough, we’re not in Germany!”

Shannon laughs. She turns to Shaun as Claire and Jared continue their conversation. “Shaun, do you drink?”

“I have had one before but it makes my face hot and I get anxious. I don’t like to drink in a bar. There’s a lot going on.”

“Ah yeah, I can understand that. And the face getting hot is very Irish of you,” she winks at him and smiles. “My face gets red, too.” She takes another sip of hers.

“Yes, I can see your cheeks getting pink,” Shaun replies.

“Yeah, who needs blush when you’ve got it naturally!” Shannon replies, laughing at herself. She throws her hair back dramatically as if in a shampoo commercial and laughs again.

“It looks very nice on you,” he replies simply, quietly.

Shannon blushes deeper as she notices his seriousness. “Thank you Shaun. Are you having a good time?”

“Yes, but I am worried about catching the bus.”

“I can take you home... if you’d like,” Shannon asks by not asking.

“But you can’t drive, you’ve had alcohol…”  Shaun replies, responsibly considering their safety. His mind runs a mile a minute with statistics about drunk driving, the consequences of drinking alcohol, and calculations of determining the amount of alcohol in someone’s bloodstream.

“I’ll be okay as long as I don’t have too much. I’m only having a cider, and I’ll have a glass of water after this,” Shannon replies.

Not wanting to argue, he replies, “Okay.” Under the table, Shaun pulls out the plastic scalpel he carries with him at all times and nervously strokes it, trying to keep himself calm and grounded in such an anxiety-inducing situation.

Curious and wanting to get to know Shaun better, Shannon continues their conversation. “Shaun, I overheard Dr. Glassman say that you were from Casper, Wyoming? I betcha it’s beautiful there…”

“Yes, it’s beautiful. There aren’t a lot of people there, not like here in San Jose.”

“I love San Jose... the weather is great and there’s plenty of fun stuff to do,” Shannon replies, a native to the area and proud of her ‘hometown’.

“I just go to my apartment and the hospital. And the grocery store. I missed my stop on the bus the other night and my neighbor Lea picked me up…”

“That was nice of her. But seriously though, you should take a day off and visit the Rose Garden… or the museums! There are so many awesome museums around here!” Shannon leans in and pats him on the leg as she’s describing the fun places to see. Before she realizes what she did, Shaun looks down, startled. She removes her hand quickly, “I’m so sorry. I know you don’t like to be touched.”

He recovers quickly. “Touching is fine, squeezing is not,” he replies, as if stating a fact.

“Oh, okay, well, either way, I’m sorry... I’m used to touching people as I talk to them... My family is very expressive like that. Forgive me if I make you uncomfortable - and please let me know if I do. I’m not trying to intentionally do so, but it’s second nature to me sometimes.”

“It’s okay,” he replies. “When someone drinks and their blood alcohol content increases, people experience elation, excitement, and extroversion.” Recalling and sharing facts keeps him calm.

“Yes, you’re right... Are you sure I can’t get you something?” She asks gently.

“No, this environment is a lot to take in; I don’t want to drink. If I just focus on you, it is okay though.”

“Then you are very welcome to focus on me,” she replies sincerely before taking another drink. _Straightforward and honest... I could get used to this,_ she thinks.

Meanwhile, Shaun takes her up on that and studies her some more... the way her hair curls, pulled back at the top half. Small tendrils framing the side of her face, a spattering of freckles on her forehead and nose…

She puts her drink down and smiles back up at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure I like the way things are developing for Shaun/Lea in the show, but we'll see what happens... I think I have some good ideas how I can handle his road trip. Not sure about the aftermath, either (if one is to believe what is implied in the trailer for next week's show). Things might start to get really AU if I can't find a good way to reel it back in. 
> 
> That's okay, we all ship Shaun/Shannon around here anyway, don't we!? ;) 
> 
> Stick with me - I've got grand ideas for this fic! :)


	10. Shaun Murphy, what am I going to do about you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **“Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood.” – George Orwell, _1984_**

Shannon takes another sip of her drink, finishing it. “I’m going to go get a water. Do you want a water, Shaun?”

“No, I’m okay.”

“Alright,” she says, hopping down off the stool. She grabs her wallet so she can tab out at the bar. Shannon heads over to the bar and finds herself waiting amongst the numerous customers. She gets a bartender’s attention and asks for her tab and a water. As she’s waiting, Shannon looks back at Shaun. She sighs and smiles, _This isn’t so bad…_ she thinks. _He’s so easy to talk to, but I think Claire needs to do some reconnaissance for me. She owes me THAT much at least…_ She sings along with the music. 

_I want to work this out_  
_The words you say don't fit right now_  
_I hear your name around_  
_Sometimes it takes too long_  


_And I want to know if these words are enough_  
_Sometimes you've got to give things up_  
_Sometimes you better not let go_  
_'Cause I need to know when I'm down and in trouble_  


In the meantime, Shaun continues to rub the plastic scalpel under the table, sighing audibly so as to attempt to relieve the anxiety that is overwhelming him, almost crushing him. His eyes dart around the room as he becomes distracted in thought. _What should I say when she comes back? I think I’m flirting with her, am I flirting with her? Does she know I’m flirting with her? Does she think it’s inappropriate? I hope she doesn’t think it’s inappropriate. What would her face look like if she thinks it’s inappropriate? What should I say…?_

Jared gets up to use the restroom and Shaun startles at the noise of Jared's barstool scraping on the floor. Claire notices the concerned look on Shaun’s face and offers him some support. “You’re doing great Shaun. I can tell you and Shannon are really hitting it off.”

“Is ‘hitting it off’ the same as ‘got it bad’? I don’t know what to say to her. Am I being inappropriate?” He speaks slowly and deliberately.

“No, ‘hitting it off’ means things are going well for you two. ‘Got it bad’ means that we can tell that you’re interested in her, that you really like her. And no, I don’t think you’re being inappropriate. Because she’s a nurse and you’re a doctor?” she asks.

Shaun nods in response. He hums to himself nervously.

“No Shaun, Shannon likes you, too.”

His heart pounds in his chest at the last statement, and even over the loud music he swears he can hear his heart beating in his ears. He hums before responding, “Are you being sarcastic right now, because I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic.” He continues stroking the scalpel in his lap.

“No Shaun, I’m not being sarcastic. I think if you took a moment to look at how she responds to you, you could tell that she likes you…” Claire replies before being cut off at Jared returning.

Shaun considers what Claire says for a moment before Shannon approaches as well.

“It took for freaking ever to get a damn water!” she states to the table as she arrives, hopping back up on the barstool. She turns to Shaun, “I tabbed out, too… so I’m ready to go whenever you are.”

Claire smiles at Shannon and then at Shaun, nodding at him.

“Hey Jared, what part of England are you from?” Shannon asks, trying to get her and Shaun involved in the others’ conversation.

“I grew up in the London area. Pretty boring stuff,” he replies.

Shannon’s not sure if he’s trying to be humble or not, based on their limited interactions. “That’s nice... never been but I’d love to visit someday.” She notices the way Claire watches Jared when he talks and remembers to bring up _their_ relationship next time she’s alone with her.

Claire and Jared seem uninterested in having a group conversation, so Shannon takes another drink and looks back to Shaun and catches him staring. She smiles and looks down for a moment at being studied, blushing. She recovers and asks, “Tell me something about yourself, Shaun...”

He sighs in relief that she started up the conversation again. “There’s a cat that lives outside on my patio. I feed him. My neighbor Lea said it won’t ever go away now.” He gives a small smile and looks directly at her, taking Claire’s advice to pay attention to how Shannon responds to him.

“That’s nice… I love cats,” Shannon responds. She laughs a little at herself. “But you already know that,” she says under her breath, shaking her head. She continues, “I would be feeding it, too. Do you like animals?”

“Yes. I had a pet rabbit, but it died,” he says as if stating a fact. His head bobs for a moment and he looks away while speaking to Shannon, but turns towards her as he awaits her response.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Losing a pet is difficult.” She goes to place a hand on his hand to reassure him without squeezing, but realizes he’s holding something in his hand. She removes her hand, placing it back on the table. She decides not to intrude.

“Yes, it was a long time ago. When I get nervous, I think of my brother. He gave this to me.” Shaun holds up a plastic something that looks like a toy, but out of view of Claire and Jared who are still engrossed in their own conversation.

“What is it?”

“It’s a scalpel. It keeps me calm and reminds me of my brother,” he responds slowly, with pauses in the spaces between his words.

“That’s very nice, Shaun. I understand you may be anxious or nervous right now. This is a stressful environment.” She takes another few sips of water as she waits for him to respond.

“People like to make fun of me for it…” he pauses and sighs. “...Yes it is stressful, but talking to you is easy.”

“Well you shouldn’t be listening to them, they’re dumb.” Shannon laughs, trying to get him to smile. “I’m glad it’s easy for you to talk to me.”

“I like it when you laugh,” he replies, his dimples slightly showing as a slight smile brightens his face.

“Oh yeah? That’s good, because I like to laugh, and I laugh a lot.” She laughs again, laughing at herself.

“But it is getting late...” he says, nervously looking at his phone.

“You’re right, it is. I can take you home now if you’d like.” She takes another big gulp of water.

“Yes, I think that would be good.”

“Alright then,” she replies, smiling at him. “Hey Claire, Jared, it’s getting late so I’m going to take Shaun home. Thanks again for the invite.”

Shaun nods and gently grabs his jacket as he climbs down from the barstool.

Jared looks at his watch and then gives an odd look towards Claire, but smiles and nods in response. Claire doesn’t think much of it and replies, “Yes, it was good to get out, and I’m glad you came. I’ll text you later and make sure you got home safe…” she replies with a wink.

Shannon laughs and rolls her eyes. She grabs her wallet and hops down from the barstool.

Shaun notices the interaction but doesn’t visibly respond. He follows her out the door.

As they step outside, Shannon sighs and looks back at Shaun. She notices him visibly relax.

“C’mon Dr. Murphy, let’s find somewhere less stressful...” She wraps her arm around the inside of his and she leads him down the street towards her car two blocks away. They walk in contented silence, Shannon takes a few moments to look up at the stars as Shaun’s mind runs through all the things he should probably say to her but can’t decide exactly what…

“I’m sure you can see a lot more stars in Casper, Wyoming...”

“Yes, there is light pollution in San Jose,” he says, stating a well-known fact.

“I bet you it’s breathtaking there.”

“Yes it is. Especially in the winter. The winter is darker in the northern hemisphere because the sun is further from the horizon.” He feels the pressure of her arm gently resting in his, deciding whether he likes her holding him that way. He also considers how she touched him twice tonight, in addition to their current state and weighs in on the differential diagnosis of Claire’s ‘relationship’ assessment.

Looking up and noticing him lost in thought as they arrive at her car, Shannon says, “We’re here, Shaun... I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable holding on to your arm...”

“No, it was okay... is that something that friends do?”

“Yes, sometimes. I just like to do that when walking with someone, it makes a walk more enjoyable.” Shannon pulls her keys from her pocket and unlocks the car. She stands there to see if he wants to continue the conversation.

Shaun stands there, thinking to himself for a second and looking up at the stars, before he turns to reach the door handle.

Shannon smiles, _slightly, surprisingly disappointed_ , and walks around the back of the car to get in the driver’s seat, making sure there aren’t any approaching cars.

They head home with Shaun giving Shannon directions to his apartment while Shannon shares a little more about herself - mostly about her recent experience with nursing school, testing, and graduation. He doesn’t offer her much about his educational experience, but is content to sit there and listen to Shannon share hers. She pulls up to his building and puts the car in park.

“I had a nice time tonight, Shaun. Thank you for making me come out.” Shannon laughs at her remark.

“You’re welcome. Should I text you to make sure that you get home safe? Isn’t that what friends say they do, like Claire said she would?” He reaches into his front bookbag pocket and grabs his keys.

Shannon laughs a little. “You are welcome to text me and make sure I get home safe. Yes, that is something that friends do.”

“Okay then. Have a good night, Shannon,” Shaun says, opening the door and stepping out of it.

Shannon smiles. “Good night Shaun.” She watches him as he shuts the passenger door and turns to walk towards the front entrance of his apartment building. She waits until he gets his key in the lock and the door opens before she drives away.

\---

Shannon arrives home about 10 minutes later, her apartment not far from Shaun’s - all within decent driving distance from St. Bonaventure. In California, distance is measured in minutes, not in miles…

She opens the door to two enthusiastic cats and puts her keys and wallet on the kitchen island. She kicks her shoes off and grabs a beer from the fridge, flopping down on the couch and switching on the TV.

Shortly thereafter, she receives a text from Shaun - complete with perfect grammar and punctuation.

“Hello Shannon, it’s Shaun Murphy. I wanted to make sure you got home safely in a text message as we discussed.”

  * “Hi Shaun. Yep I’m home now - thank you!” (smiley emoji)



“I’m glad you are home safely. Good night Shannon.”

  * “Good night Shaun”



Shannon smiles to herself and takes another swig of beer. Her phone pings her text message tone again. It’s a sleeping face emoji from Shaun. She laughs at the implication. _I’d bet a million dollars it took him a few moments to find that emoji and figure out if he wanted to send it…_

She returns to her shows, not really paying attention to them while she absently pets her cats. _Shaun… you gentle soul. What am I going to do?_ she thinks to herself. Before getting too lost in thought, Shannon turns off the TV and heads into the kitchen. She finishes her beer and grabs another while deciding that she wants to bake some cookies for her co-workers. _Mostly for myself, of course,_ she thinks, laughing. _Selfish girl._

“Alexa, turn on my evening music.”

The device responds. “Now playing Shannon’s Evening Playlist.”

Shannon pulls out the eggs and butter from the fridge and turns on the oven to preheat. She measures out the other ingredients and pulls her baking sheets out from the cabinet. Shannon sings to her cats and enjoys her beer as she makes the cookie batter and prepares the cookies, placing them in the oven. “Alexa, set a 10-minute timer.”

“The timer is set for ten minutes.”

She polishes off her beer and grabs another, dancing around the kitchen, singing as she cleans up, her cats looking at her as if they’re judging her singing abilities. She ignores them.

 _Yeah, I'd rather be a lover than a fighter_  
_'Cause all my life, I've been fighting_  
_Never felt a feeling of comfort_  
_All this time, I've been hiding_  
_And I never had someone to call my own, oh nah_  
_I'm so used to sharing_  
_Love only left me alone_  
_But I'm at one with the silence_  


_I found peace in your violence_  
_Can't tell me there's no point in trying_  
_I'm at one, and I've been quiet for too long_  
_I found peace in your violence_  
_Can't tell me there's no point in trying_  
_I'm at one, and I've been silent for too long_  


Shannon receives a text, so she wipes off her hands and grabs her phone. It’s Claire.

“Did you make it home safe? LOL”

  * “Of course I did… Were you implying something?” (thinking face emoji)



“Maybe… you and Shaun hit it off tonight”

  * “Whatever” (tongue face emoji)



“You did! He likes you and you like him too! Admit it!”

  * “Claire, seriously, I’m just afraid that it’s inappropriate! He’s a superior for god’s sakes”



“He said the same thing, well not exactly, but about it being inappropriate”  
“And it’s not inappropriate, so are you sure it's not just that you're nervous because he’s not neurotypical?”

  * “Maybe a little but also because I don’t think he’s been in a relationship before”
  * “You heard what he said about ‘almost kissing a girl once’...”



“You’re doing fine. You’ll be fine. I’m sure he can handle himself”

  * “You’re right”



“You two are cute together! I should have taken a picture of the two of you tonight”

  * “Oh yeah, and what about you and Dr. Kalu?”



(a moment’s pause)

“What about me and Kalu?”

  * “You know what… Claire the man couldn’t keep an emotion off his face if his life depended on it!”



“Ugh… damnit. I didn’t want anyone to know…”

  * “Your secret is safe with me”
  * “Get home safe tonight, Claire” (winky face emoji)



“Yeah whatever” (tongue face emoji)

The timer goes off. “Alexa, stop.” Shannon’s music resumes playing and she pulls the cookies out of the oven. She turns back to the sink and finishes up the dishes as she lets the cookies cool, singing along to the music...

 _Baby, I think about you_  
_And I feel it, deep in my heart_  
_Maybe we just ain't meant to be something_  
_Maybe we are?_  


_I just wanna dive in the water, with you_  
_Baby, we can't see the bottom_  
_It's so easy to fall for each other_  
_I'm just hoping we catch one another_  


Once the sink is clear and clean, she puts the cookies in some tupperware and cleans off the cookie sheet. She finishes cleaning up the kitchen, throws her empty beer bottle in the recycling bin, turns off the music and the lights, and heads to her bedroom. Her cats follow her down the hall.

After a nice hot shower, she heads to bed - Chloe and Cassie already claiming their spots on her comforter. She re-reads the texts from Shaun and Claire before plugging in her phone and turning off her bedside lamp. _Shaun Murphy, what am I going to do about you…_ she thinks to herself, almost afraid to say his name aloud. It takes her quite a while to fall asleep.

Little does she know, the same Shaun Murphy is also lying awake in bed thinking similar thoughts of her, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always debate where the best place is to end the chapters and this one ended up being a little shorter than normal, but I think it makes most sense where to end it. I hope you enjoy it! The next couple chapters might be a little sad, because let's face it - Point Three Percent is a super sad episode. This time it will have some added Shaun/Shannon fluff, so it should be a little better. :)


	11. It's best to just leave him be with his feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **“Hard truths can be dealt with, triumphed over, but lies will destroy your soul.” – Patricia Briggs, _Moon Called_**

The next morning Shannon heads to work with her freshly baked cookies in hand. She takes them to the lounge and sets them on the table with the note she wrote at home - in bright pink marker, her sloppy handwriting says:  

Chocolate Chip  
Enjoy!  <3 Nurse Kelly

The folded-up flash card sits next to the container. She smiles, and heads to the locker room to put her stuff away and clock in.

“Fresh cookies in the lounge,” she says as she approaches the Nurses Station. “Good morning everyone!” She laughs at the others as she watches Nurse Park stand up and almost fight his way out to grab some cookies. Shannon sits down at the desk and logs in to check patient files. Just then, Jared and Claire walk up.

“Good morning you two. I made cookies last night - they’re in the lounge.”

“Awesome!” Jared says as he heads straight for the lounge, as determined as Nurse Park.

Claire laughs. “Thanks Shannon, I’ll grab one later. I’m glad you had a good time last night. _I told you it would be fun,_ ” she says teasingly.

“Yeah yeah. I still don’t know how comfortable I feel hanging out with three doctors.”

Just then, Jared and Nurse Park walk back to the Nurses Station. “Three awesome doctors,” Jared says, mouth full of cookie.

“Enjoying that cookie?” Shannon says, laughing at him.

He nods, recognizing her tone as a teasing one. Claire rolls her eyes at him.

Shannon looks back down to the computer and types a quick note as Jared and Claire chat for a moment, waiting for Melendez.

Not a minute later, Melendez walks up, Shaun not far behind. “Good morning everyone,” Shaun says, confidently.

“Right on time. What’d you sleep here, or use a teleportation device?” Melendez shoots back sarcastically.

Shaun looks at him, pausing for a moment before replying, “I used a teleportation device.”

Shannon and Claire snort in unison. Melendez eyes Claire, and then Shannon.

Jared laughs a little as Shaun continues speaking, “Nonsensical questions usually imply sarcasm, which I’ve found people often reply sarcastically.”

 _He’s not wrong,_ Shannon thinks. She smiles to herself, continuing to look at the patient charts.

Jared smiles and nods at Melendez, “Good one,” as if agreeing with Shaun.

Ignoring all of that, Melendez continues. “Trauma wants a consult on a 66-year-old who collapsed from severe anaphylaxis, complicated by respiratory arrest. Now the son just got back from Thailand, almost immediately, the father had his allergic reaction.”

Loud groaning from one of the bed areas startles the staff, Shannon included, and especially Shaun.

Melendez continues, “Patient has a few allergies, pollen, mold, shellfish, but no corresponding allergens were in evidence.”

With a confused look Claire looks up from the chart and asks, “Why are we doing a consult on an allergy?” She hands Melendez back the chart.

“Well, we’re not. We’re doing a consult on the excruciating abdominal pain he now has.”

Another loud yell again startles everyone.

Melendez starts to walk towards the patient and turns back. He quips, “As you may have heard.”

Jared and Claire follow Melendez over to greet the patient, but Shaun stays a step behind. Then, something catches his eye in the opposite direction.

Noticing, Shannon looks up from her computer to see what Shaun’s interested in. She recalls, _The boy with the broken arm… Is the curious allergy not interesting enough for you, Shaun?_ she smirks at herself.

Shaun stands there for a moment, almost as if hesitating to approach the young boy.

Other nurses close the curtain on the boy, most likely to get him prepped for radiology.

Shannon stands up and walks over to Shaun. “Shaun, are you okay?” she asks gently.

Startled, Shaun turns abruptly to face her. “That boy looks like my brother,” he says with a look that Shannon can’t quite put her finger on.

“Oh, that’s interesting… I bet you that you’re the older brother…” she encourages him to speak more about his brother, still trying to decipher the look on Shaun’s face.

“Yes, but my brother died. He went to heaven before my eyes...” Shannon is shocked, and opens her mouth to say something, but Shaun continues, slow and deliberate with his words. “That is what my brother looked like the last time I saw him.”

 _Pain. Remembering. Remorse._ Shannon thinks sadly, deciphering Shaun’s facial expression. _I know that feeling all too well..._  “Oh Shaun, I’m sorry to hear that.” Against her better judgment, she reaches out and puts her hand on Shaun’s arm, attempting to reassure him.

After a few moments, Shannon removes her hand from Shaun’s arm, and noticing his silence and need for space, she backs away, her head tucked down a little. She gives him a reassuring yet pinched smile before turning back to her charting. Her heart hurts for him. _It must be so hard for him to process emotions like that… It's best to just leave him be with his feelings_ , she thinks to herself. She sits back down at the computer.

After a few moments, Shaun walks away, still lost in thought and without a word to any of his coworkers.

\---

Shannon runs her med rounds and her last stop is the boy with the broken arm. She smiles as she enters, “Hello Evan, I’m Nurse Kelly. I have some Tylenol to help you with the pain until your parents get here.”

“Yeah, this isn’t the most comfortable feeling I’ve ever had.”

Shannon smiles, “Have you taken Tylenol before?”

“Yes,” the boy replies.

“Very well.” Shannon offers the boy two tablets and a cup of water. She marks his chart on her tablet after he takes the pills.

He takes the pills with the water and hands the cups back. “Saving the good stuff until my parents get here, yeah?” Evan jokes.

Shannon laughs, “Yes, sorry. We need your parents’ permission to give you anything stronger. I’m sorry for the discomfort. I’ll have someone check on your x-ray results and the doctor will be with you shortly.”

“Thank you,” the boy replies as Shannon walks away. She debates telling Shaun about the x-ray results in his chart, but ultimately decides against it. She finishes putting her meds away and sits back down at the Nurses Station.

A few minutes pass before she notices Shaun walk into the ER again. He stops by the Nurses Station and grabs a tablet without a word to Shannon before he walks over and enters the patient area where the boy is sitting.

Shannon can’t help but watch from a distance.

“Hello, Evan Gallico? I’m Dr. Shaun Murphy. May I discuss your x-rays with you?” Shaun asks as he approaches.

“Yeah. Thanks Doc,” the boy replies.

Shaun pulls the privacy curtain behind him.

Shannon, still working at the computer, looks up casually and watches Shaun interact with the boy, only for a few moments. She looks back at the computer screen, still concerned but pleased with Shaun’s ability to handle himself. Her heart goes out to him.

\---

A few minutes later, Shaun steps out from the patient area, pulling open the privacy curtain and walking towards the Nurses Station.

Dr. Glassman walks up, “Shaun, are you getting any sleep?”

Shannon overhears, curiosity getting the best of her.

“Yes,” Shaun replies.

“Really? I mean, really getting sleep?” Glassman asks again.

“I got here on time.”

“Well, that’s good,” Glassman replies, looking over at the patient. He does a quick double-take.

“I used a teleportation device,” Shaun replies to Glassman.

Being that Glassman isn’t paying attention, Shaun walks away towards the Nurses Station.

Shaun walks up and says, “Radiology form, please.” Shannon grabs a form and hands it to him. Shaun begins filling out the paperwork.

Glassman turns back towards Shaun, and then back at the patient. He walks up behind Shaun saying, “Shaun, that boy, he looks like-”

“Steve. He does.” Shaun interjects.

“Is he related?” Glassman asks.

Without looking back to Glassman, he replies, “His name is Evan Gallico, so I don’t think so.”

Glassman looks back at the patient again. “Wow. That is uncanny.” He moves around behind Shaun to his other side.

“Just coincidental.” Shaun finishes the form and hands it back to Shannon.

“He looks exactly like your brother,” Glassman continues.

“No he doesn’t. His hair is shorter.”

“It freaks me out. It doesn’t freak you out?”

“No. Nnn-No.” Shaun replies with his head shaking in reassurance.

“It’s okay if it does-” Glassman replies, gently.

Interrupting again, Shaun says, “No, he’s not Steve. Steve’s dead.” He looks back at Shannon for a moment, his face set, he doesn’t smile at her.

She just sits there, looking at him, as well. No emotion passes between them.

“‘I used a teleportation device’ was a joke,” Shaun says, walking away from the both of them.

“Yeah, that’s good,” Glassman says, looking over at Shannon for a moment, and then back to where Shaun walked off to. After a moment, he looks back to speak to Shannon. “Is he doing alright, Nurse Kelly?”

“Uhm… Yeah, I think so. This can’t be easy for him though,” Shannon replies genuinely.

“No. It boggles the mind, really. That boy looks _exactly_ like his brother who passed when Shaun was 14.” Glassman looks back at the boy, a little awestruck.

“Oh wow, he was young when it happened. I didn’t realize that.”

“Shaun mentioned his brother to you?” Glassman asks, a little surprised.

“Yes. Yesterday he mentioned him in passing, but today when he saw that patient, he mentioned that his brother had died and he had witnessed it. So sad,” Shannon says.

Glassman thinks for a moment, surprised at the information that Shaun had shared with Shannon. “Thank you Nurse Kelly,” he says before walking away.

“Have a good day, Dr. Glassman.”

\---

A little while later, Shannon heads to the lounge to take a short break. She smiles as she notices that more than half of her cookies are gone and she grabs one for herself and sits down on one of the couches, then lays down and puts her feet off of the end. She takes a bite of her cookie and checks her phone.

After a minute or two, Shaun walks in, presumably on a break, too. Shannon looks up from her phone and notices it’s him.

“Hi Shaun,” Shannon says. “Have you had a cookie? I made them last night.”

“No, but I will have one,” he replies, picking one up carefully. He smells it for a moment and takes a bite.

“How are you doing? Glassman told me that the boy with the broken arm looks exactly like your brother.” A look of concern is plastered on Shannon’s face as she sits up to face Shaun.

“Mmmm,” Shaun hums for a moment, his mouth full of cookie. He pulls a chair out from the table and turns toward Shannon to respond to her question, taking a dramatic gulp after having chewed the bite of cookie. “I’m okay. Does Dr. Glassman talk to you often?”

“No, not often. But he does seem to like to check up on you for some reason…” Shannon replies.

Shaun hums a little further, a pinched look on his face, but doesn’t say anything. Shaun momentarily neglects his cookie.

“If you don’t want me to talk to him, I won’t. To be honest, I don’t really feel comfortable about it because it makes me feel like I’m betraying your trust in some way…”

Shaun continues to think to himself and doesn’t say anything in response. Abruptly, Shaun stands up and says, “I have to go do a CT scan.” He takes his cookie with him.

Shannon is left a little awestruck and doesn’t quite know how to respond either. _Not cool, Shannon, not cool…_ she thinks. She immediately texts Claire and thankfully receives a response back within a few moments.

  * “I think I fucked up”



“Why what happened”

  * “I told Shaun that Glassman has been asking me about him… I think he’s upset at me”



“Why has Glassman been asking you stuff about Shaun?”

  * “I don’t know, and as I told Shaun, it makes me uncomfortable”



“Well I don’t know what to say, sorry - let’s talk later and grab a coffee”

  * “Ok”



_Shit_ , Shannon thinks. She looks at the time and realizes her short break is over, so she heads back out to the Nurses Station.

\---

A couple hours later, Shaun sits in the cafeteria having lunch with Dr. Glassman. Still thinking about his conversation with Shannon, Shaun confronts him.

“Shannon is uncomfortable with you asking her questions about me,” he says, straightforwardly.

“Why, what? Did she say something to you?” Glassman replies, a little surprised at the abruptness of the conversation switch.

Getting visibly upset, Shaun replies, “Yes. I don’t want you to ask her questions about me anymore. I don’t want you to talk to Shannon about me anymore. She is _my_ friend.”

“Yes, okay Shaun… Is everything okay? Is this because of Steve?”

“No, I am not upset about Steve, I am upset about Shannon,” Shaun replies, loudly. His hand goes up to his hair and he ruffles it, hands clenching as he is getting more and more upset.

“Okay okay, calm down, Shaun. I won’t bother Shannon anymore.” Glassman attempts to calm him.

“Okay. Okay, mmmm…” Shaun replies, trying to calm himself, hands wringing.

Glassman remains silent for a while, letting Shaun calm himself down. He continues to eat his lunch.

“She made cookies last night and brought them to work,” Shaun says, referring back to Shannon. “They are very good.”

“That’s nice. What kind of cookies?”

“Chocolate chip. I love chocolate chip,” Shaun replies, taking another bite of his food.

“Yes, I know,” Glassman replies, a small smile on his face.

“My patient has cancer and his parents don’t want to tell him. I don’t understand why…” Shaun continues to speak about his patient with Glassman before heading back up to the Inpatient floor at the conclusion of his break.

\---

After going on another med round and replacing the dressings on a patient with a septic bed sore, Shannon is charting at the Nurses Station as Shaun walks up. “I can’t lie to my patients,” Shaun says.

Shannon, a little surprised that it seems nothing had conspired between them, replies. “No, and you shouldn’t have to. Why? Who’s asking you to lie to your patients?” Shannon asks.

“Hmm… Evan Gallico’s parents. He has cancer and they don’t want to tell him, and they told me not to tell him.”

“Well, if they don’t want you to tell him, then you probably shouldn’t tell him. They’re his parents, after all.”

“That’s what Dr. Glassman said. But I can’t lie. I’m not good at it,” Shaun says, deliberately.

“I can see why lying might be hard. Maybe you could ask Claire to help you. I’m sure she would help you talk to Evan.”

“Hmm, okay…” Shaun says, and turns to walk away.

Again, Shannon is left wanting to say something to Shaun as he abruptly ends the conversation. She sighs and reminds herself to speak with him later.

\---

Shannon takes her lunch break before heading down to the ER for the rest of her shift. She texts Claire to see if she’s available to meet.

  * “I’m in the cafeteria on my lunch if you want to chat”



“Sure, I’ll be down in a few”

Shannon begins eating her lunch, checking her social media as she waits for Claire to arrive. She does a few minutes later, as promised.

“Hey,” Claire says as she walks up, a fresh coffee in hand.

“Hey Claire. Sorry for bothering you about all of this, I’m such a mess about it.”

“Yeah, well, it seems Shaun’s having quite a time, too. He asked me to lie for him.”

“Yeah, that’s messed up. I suggested that he ask for your help. He said he’s not a good liar.”

Claire laughs gently for a moment. “What a great quality to have… now if only all guys were bad liars!”

Shannon laughs in return. “Speaking of that, how’s you and Jared?”

Claire’s bright smile drops, and her eyes squint at Shannon and she leans forward. “Hey, keep that on the down-low…”

“I am!” She leans forward as well. “I just want details. Juicy ones.” Shannon says, with a squint and a smirk.

Claire sits back up. “There are no juicy details.” She takes a sip of coffee.

“Oh, yes there are. How’s the sex?” Shannon asks, a gleaming, mischievous look on her face.

Claire’s eyes go wide and she almost spits out her coffee. “Wha… I…” Claire spits out, looking around the room to see if anyone’s listening. She smiles to herself and then smirks back at Shannon. “It’s good. I mean, it’s great…”

“Sure it is… talk, dark, and moody…” Shannon laughs again.

“Did you kiss Shaun?” Claire asks, deliberately changing the subject.

Shannon has a similar visceral reaction as Claire just did. Shannon shakes her head. “No, I didn’t.”

“Two can play at this game, Shannon…” Claire says, laughing and taking another sip of coffee.

“Ugh,” she replies jokingly and takes a bite of her salad.

“So what’s this business about Glassman?” Claire asks.

Shannon finishes chewing and replies, “I don’t know. Glassman is being all weird and checking up on Shaun by questioning me. Did I tell you he actually came up to me and basically asked me my intentions with Shaun?”

“No!? When did this happen?” Claire asked, shocked.

“Yeah, just the other day… It’s making me really uncomfortable about this whole thing, and Shaun isn’t giving me much as far as what I should and shouldn’t say or what I should or shouldn’t do…” Shannon continues as Claire listens to her concerns. “Now you’ve got me thinking that this is headed in the direction of a relationship and it’s all messed up in my head right now.”

“Shaun likes you, Shannon, and that’s all that should matter,” Claire says, trying to help her friend. “You need to talk to him. Either you need to tell him how you feel, or you need to ask him how he feels. And you probably shouldn’t talk to Glassman about him.”

“You’re right. _Damnit_ ,” Shannon says, cursing to herself. She shakes her head for a moment. Not wanting to bring the conversation down, she picks it up again by asking, “Did you get to try one of my cookies? It seemed like Jared was excited for them… him and Nurse Park. Rabid, starving animals you’d think!” Shannon laughs.

Claire barks out a laugh. “Yes, I did… finally. They were delicious. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I got home last night and needed to do something to get my mind off of Shaun. Plus, I wanted some cookie dough.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A small **spoiler alert** for this story! Don't read this note if you don't want to know...
> 
> A heads up for my dear, devoted readers, things are going to start heading downhill for Shaun and Shannon (quite fast) for a little while. I'm asking that you stick with me and trust it will be an exciting, wonderful rollercoaster ride. I hope you enjoy my story!


	12. Inhale, exhale...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **“If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.” – George Bernard Shaw, _Immaturity_**

After her break, Shannon heads to the ER to finish out her shift. Unsure of Shaun’s duties for the rest of the day, she texts him to make sure she can speak with him before she leaves for the evening.

  * “Hey Shaun, if you get a moment let’s chat later” (smiley emoji)



She doesn’t immediately get a text in reply, so she figures he is busy and reports to Nurse Smith.

“Good afternoon, Nurse Smith,” Shannon says, walking up to the Nurses Station.

“Hello dear. How are you today?” she replies, looking up from her computer.

“I’m just fine, thanks. What do we have going on today?”

“Not much. Go ahead and check on beds two and five. I just did a med pass.”

“Alright then, thanks!” Shannon says, picking up a tablet to check on the patients’ charts.

\---

Elsewhere in the hospital, Shaun checks his phone and reads the text from Shannon. He decides not to reply but promises himself that he’ll reply to her later. Determined to find an alternative diagnosis for Evan Gallico’s condition, heads down to the café with some journals and medical charts and spreads out at an empty table.

About twenty minutes later, Claire walks up with a laptop, finding a nice quiet spot in the café, just as Shaun had.

“Hi Shaun,” she sits down at the next table over and across from him.

Shaun nods and replies, “Hi Claire.”

“I had fun last night, and it looked like you did too, you and Shannon,” Claire smirks at Shaun.

Thinking something might be up but not able to determine exactly what, Shaun replies to her remark. “Yes, I had fun. Did Shannon? I didn’t ask her.”

“It seemed like it, but I think you should ask her that yourself,” Claire offers.

“Okay,” Shaun says, turning back to his work.

Being nosy, Claire continues. “You act like you like her, Shaun. I wonder if you want to be in a relationship with her…”

“Hmmmm…” Shaun murmurs, unsure of how to respond and unable to lie. Instead, he continues focusing on the papers in front of him.

Not giving up, Claire again offers unsolicited advice, “If you like her, you’d better let her know.” She continues looking at Shaun but doesn’t get a response.

Shaun hums again and rocks a little in his seat, clearly wanting to burst with information but trying to hold it in. He leans forward to focus on the article he was reading, trying to distract himself from thoughts of Shannon.

Mercifully, Claire looks back down to her laptop and pulls up her email, leaving him be. After she checks her email inbox, she changes the subject.

Shaun is hunched over another medical chart, his hands around his neck.

“Are you looking for loopholes, hoping to save Evan?” she asks him.

“Everyone makes mistakes,” he replies.

After a short conversation about patient outcomes and their outlook on death, Claire gets notification of her patients’ results coming back. She shuts her laptop and rushes back up to find Jared.

Shaun continues sifting through Evan’s medical records for a short while. After a while though, he decides to move to a different location after finding more information, more reading. He gathers up his things and checks his phone. The message from Shannon still awaits a response.

\---

After checking in on her patients, Shannon returns to the Nurses Station just in time for the triage nurse to carry an unconscious child to bed three. In a flurry of activity, the she rushes into action. The wide-eyed mother follows closely behind. Shannon grabs some gloves and heads to the bed to assess the situation.

“Nurse Kelly, the 5-year-old boy passed out in the waiting area. He’s not breathing.” The triage nurse - _Nurse Berry_ , Shannon recalls - places the child on the bed and removes the boy’s jacket. Then, he assesses the airway and listens for breaths. Finding none, he grabs a bag valve mask and starts pumping it.

Shannon hits the code blue button to alert the other nurses and ER doctor. She feels for a pulse. “No pulse. I’m starting compressions.” Nurse Berry pulls the mask away from the boy’s mouth.

Shannon can feel the crackling in his chest as she presses, the breaking of the cartilage in his ribcage as she does the compressions, the pressure of her hands forcing the air out of the boy’s lungs, taking much more effort on her behalf to do so. _Something’s wrong…_ Shannon thinks. She feels for a heartbeat - no heartbeat, but forced breaths are sputtering out of the boy as she continues with the chest compressions.

Nurse Smith, Nurse Park, and Dr. Aquila rush in with a crash cart. “Five-year-old boy passed out in the waiting room, cyanotic, in respiratory distress and cardiac arrest. No visible airway obstruction. I didn’t even have time to get him hooked up to the machines,” Shannon says.

“And a few compressions got him breathing again?" Dr. Aquila asks Shannon - she receives a nod in reply. "Nurse Berry, get the mother outside please. Stop compressions for a moment, I need to listen for a heartbeat,” she instructs. Instead, Shannon gets the bag mask ready to assist with the child’s airway if Dr. Aquila asks for it. Nurse Park prepares the patient with a blood pressure cuff and pulse oximeter while Nurse Smith readies the defibrillator.

“Get the BP cuff and pulse ox on him Nurse Park, and get the BVM back on him,” she instructs.

Shannon complies and places the mask on the young boy’s face, pumping the bag at a regular rhythm. Nurse Park puts the devices on the boy and allows the monitor to catch up. Dr. Aquila continues to listen to his chest.

“Nurse Berry, can we get the mother in here for a moment?” she asks.

The boy’s mother walks in, haggard-looking and desperate, she croaks out, “What’s wrong with my boy?”

“Hello, yes, tell me, has he been ill lately?” the doctor asks.

“Yes, well, I mean, he’s had a cough for a while,” the mother replies.

“And you’re telling me this boy is five years old?”

“Yes, he’s five. Why? What’s wrong?”

“Let us get him stable and I’ll be out to speak with you. Thank you Nurse Berry,” the doctor replies.

Shannon’s heart begins to break. _Don’t let me be right, don’t let me be right…_ she thinks to herself.

Nurse Berry guides the mother back out into the hallway much to her chagrin, but all of the nurses are focused on the child. “Nurse Kelly, don’t stop with the BVM, the boy’s heartbeat is there, just very very faint. The defibrillator isn’t necessary, Nurse Smith.”

Dr. Aquila grabs the otoscope from behind the bed and looks at the boy’s nasal cavities. “Instead, let’s get him on a BiPAP. I also want him on an IV drip, a CBC, a protein workup, and a full vitamin workup. I also want a chest x-ray.”

“What do you think it is, Dr. Aquila?” Nurse Park asks as Nurse Smith takes notes on her tablet.

“I think it may be Cystic Fibrosis, undiagnosed. The lungs sound almost completely full. I think Nurse Kelly’s compressions knocked down some mucus that was blocking his airway. The poor kid doesn’t look like a five-year-old. _He looks three_.”

Shannon looks down at the young boy, still unconscious but no longer blue in the face. _Damn, the poor kid._ Her heart breaks inconsolably, but the adrenaline in her system keeps her from breaking down in front of her coworkers.

“I’ll speak with the mother. Let’s see what the blood and x-rays say, and we can go from there,” Dr. Aquila replies, putting her stethoscope back up around her neck, walking out to where the mother is waiting with Nurse Berry.

Shannon continues with the ventilation until Nurse Park returns with the BiPAP. The two of them get it hooked up for the boy and Nurse Park sets up the machine and monitors the boy’s vitals to make sure the machine is working properly.

Nurse Smith notates the boy’s vitals as Nurse Park calibrates the machine and Shannon takes the boy’s blood. When she finishes, she takes it down to the lab and heads back to the ER.

Shannon heads to the Nurses Station to do some charting now that the young boy is stable, taking a deep breath as she takes a seat at the computer. Her hands rub her face, thankful for the adrenaline still in her system. She tries to calm herself by focusing on her duties.

She details the code blue incident in the boy’s digital medical chart, every word crushing her heart as she writes it. Shannon finishes just as she’s coming down from the adrenaline high. She turns to Nurse Smith, a look of utter despair on her face, and says, “I need a break, I’ll be back.”

“Take what you need, dear,” Nurse Smith replies, recognizing the look on Shannon’s face.

Shannon heads straight for the lounge and doesn’t look at a single person in the eye as she rushes down the hallway. She pushes the door open a little too forcefully and it slams up against the wall. Feelings of panic wash over her like ocean waves and it feels as if she can’t breathe, overwhelmed with emotions, not even noticing that she’s not alone in the room. She heads for the back corner of the room and sits down on one of the benches, hidden by the lockers, her face in her hands.

Luckily - or unluckily, depending on your perspective - Shaun is in the room poring over medical texts and Evan’s medical records. The door slam startled him and his hands go up to his ears and his eyes shut, and he barely gets a glimpse of the perpetrator as they pass him. He does catch a glimpse though - it’s Shannon rounding the corner past the last row of lockers. He panics.

Shannon gasps for air, trembling, tears streaming down her face; she cries silently. Sadness and despair fight with panic to overwhelm her, and she attempts to use breathing techniques to calm herself. _Inhale, exhale… inhale, exhale… inhale, exhale…_ she thinks to herself; _inhale, exhale… inhale, exhale… hold_ … She closes her eyes and holds her breath for a few seconds, before continuing.

Shaun sits at the table for a moment questioning whether he should help if help isn’t wanted, but his concern for Shannon leaves no room for him to decide otherwise. _“I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug,”_ he runs through a particularly relevant part of his Hippocratic Oath in his mind, trying to calm himself as he gets up from the table and approaches the back of the room where Shannon is sitting.

His footsteps betray him as he walks around the corner. Hands wringing, he approaches with caution. “Shannon, do you need help?” he asks gently.

Shannon looks up at him briefly before shaking her head and turning back to look at the wall… “I’ll be alright, Shaun, thank you.”

“You don’t look alright…” he says, sitting down next to her. She looks over at him, tears in her eyes. He reaches up to take her pulse. As soon as his fingers touch her skin he can tell her heart is beating rapidly without having to count the beats. He notices the sweat beading on her forehead and her intentionally labored breathing. He removes his hand and gently asks, “Why are you having an anxiety attack?”

“It’s okay Shaun, it doesn’t really matter… I’ll get back on the floor in a few minutes.”

“I may not be able to detect sarcasm, Shannon, but I am adept at knowing when someone is trying to brush me off. Would you rather I get Claire to come sit with you?” he asks genuinely.

“No, it’s okay. Would you just sit with me for a few minutes?” she asks, still counting her breaths.

“Yes.” Shaun turns away from her and sits on the bench staring straight ahead as Shannon had been. He rubs his pant legs outwards from his body and then clasps his hands in front of his chest.

Shannon watches as he turns away and she closes her eyes, her final tears streaming down her cheeks. She wipes them away from her cheeks and continues with her breathing exercises.

Shaun holds his hands in his lap, contemplating silently the implications of her anxiety attack. _I wonder if Shannon’s having anxiety because I didn’t respond to her text message. Why didn’t I respond to her text message? That shouldn’t cause an anxiety attack, unless I did something wrong… I shouldn’t offer anything that might be painful. It’s best to let her speak when she’s ready to speak to me…_ Shaun’s breaths eventually mirror hers, unintentionally calming his thoughts. He continues reciting the Hippocratic Oath in his head.

Shannon tries to keep her mind clear as she calms herself. Thankfully having practice in handling her anxiety helps calm her relatively quickly. She feels calm enough to talk, but unsure if she should share her anxieties with Shaun. “Do you really want to know why I had an anxiety attack? Or are you just playing doctor?” she asks, unwilling to put up with any more emotional episodes if they aren’t necessary…

“Yes, I was ‘playing doctor’, but I do care to know why. That is if you feel comfortable sharing. I’m not a psychiatrist, just a surgeon.” He turns his body back towards her when he speaks, but doesn’t quite make eye contact.

“Just a surgeon,” Shannon repeats sarcastically, and she can’t help but smirk. She sighs deeply and begins to share her story. “You aren’t the only one who has lost a sibling, Shaun. I truly empathize with you about your brother.” She sighs deeply again and continues. “A young boy was brought in the ER a little bit ago. He most likely has cystic fibrosis. I lost my two baby sisters to the disease about ten years ago…” Her voice shakes as she shares. “You talking about losing your brother put me on alert this morning, and then having to resuscitate that little boy… My anxiety has been building all day and it just snuck up on me.” She stops, on the verge of tears again. She takes another deep breath and sighs.

Shaun doesn’t quite know what to say, but he gently asks, “Is this why you texted me earlier?” Shaun’s hands come apart and again, he rubs his legs.

“No, that was about something else. Inconsequential now that I think about it…” Shannon pauses for a moment, collecting her thoughts. “I miss them, I miss my family…” she says gently, her voice trailing off.

Shaun goes to reach out to touch Shannon’s hand as they sit on her lap in a reassuring manner as she had done for him earlier, but at the last moment, he pulls his hand back.

She notices this, but doesn’t react. “I’m sorry for putting my worries on you like this Shaun. You’ve suffered, too. I don’t mean to take away from what you’re dealing with today, either. Thanks for checking on me.”

“You’re welcome. I didn’t do anything though, but you told me not to do anything but sit with you,” he replies, deliberately, trying to read the situation.

“Yes, and thank you.” Shannon checks her watch. “My shift will be over in a few hours, I have to get back to the floor.”

“Yes, okay,” Shaun replies.

Shannon smiles at him gently - the smile not reaching her eyes - trying her hardest not to betray her feelings. Her eyes still slightly reddened from crying, she stands up and walks away.

Shaun sits there for a moment, still reeling with the information that Shannon had shared about herself, and of course, still dealing with thoughts of his brother and trying to help Evan Gallico. He stands up and heads back over to the table he was working at, evermore determined to find a solution.

\---

Shannon walks up to Nurse Smith and apologizes. “Thank you for allowing me to have a short break, Nurse Smith. I appreciate it.”

“Of course dear, are you alright?” the friendly older woman asks.

“Yes, I’ll be fine. I just needed a breather,” Shannon replies but doesn’t quite convince the more experienced ER nurse.

“Yeah, that’s a tough one. You did an outstanding job, Shannon. Although it doesn’t get easier, you just learn to cope with treating children. You’re right where you need to be, doing this job.” Nurse Smith reaches out and squeezes Shannon on the shoulder.

“Thank you,” Shannon replies. She appreciates the comforting thoughts even though Nurse Smith had misinterpreted the reason for being upset. And she's okay with that.

“I have taken over that bed now that the patient is stable. You check on beds two and five.”

“Yes ma’am,” Shannon says, grabbing a tablet to check in on her patients’ charts to see if their labs have been completed.

\---

Later, Shannon finishes up her charting for the night and goes to clock out in the locker room. Exhausted, emotionally and physically, she takes her time gathering her things. _I’d better go check on Shaun... I hope he’s not too worried about me,_ she thinks, heading to the lounge. Her intuitions are correct, Shaun is in the same place he was when she walked in the lounge seemingly a lifetime ago. “I figured you’d still be here,” Shannon says as she walks in the room, giving a little knock as she steps inside. “Mind if I join you?”

“Sure, that’s okay.” Lost in his own thoughts, he doesn’t even consider asking Shannon how she’s doing.

“What are you working on?” she asks.

“I’m trying to find something to help Evan Gallico.”

“Ah okay, do you need help?”

“No,” he replies, and then sits back a little, realizing his muscles are a little stiff from sitting for so long. “Maybe a break.”

“Sure thing, let’s get a coffee or something at the café.”

“I don’t like coffee. It’s too bitter,” Shaun replies, going to stand up.

“Me either. I like tea, though,” Shannon says with a smile.

“Tea with honey, yes. That sounds good.” They start walking down the hall towards the elevator. Once they step on, Shaun adds. “White tea, green tea, and black tea are all from the same plant, but harvested at different stages of growth and prepared differently.”

“That’s interesting. I didn’t know that! I like black tea and herbal teas.”

“Herbal teas sometimes aren’t teas, but depending on what is in them, may be leaves and petals and pieces of other edible plants.”

“I didn’t know that either,” Shannon replies, smiling. They step off the elevator and head for the café. “I could drink tea every day all day.”

“Well I wouldn’t recommend that, tea is a natural diuretic and in excess can cause kidney and bladder stones.”

“I _did_ know that one, Shaun… I was being silly.” Again, she offers him a gentle smile. “I do like it when you share your infinite knowledge with me.”

“I don’t know if it’s infinite…” he replies, trailing off, trying to consider what infinite knowledge would entail.

They walk up to the café and Shannon orders a small decaf peppermint tea. “What would you like, Shaun?”

Shaun leans forward to speak to the cashier, his hands clasped in front of him, “I would like a small decaf peppermint tea, please.” He leans back and smiles at himself.

Shannon giggles, “Yes, two of them. To go. Thank you.” She pays for their teas and hands the tea bag and cup of boiling water to Shaun as it is handed to her, and then walks hers over to the condiment counter. She steeps the tea bag and puts two packets of raw sugar in hers, stirring with a wooden stirrer to help dissolve the sugar. She puts the lid on and waits for Shaun.

Shaun puts a copious amount of honey in his, and stirs it up. He puts his lid on, and walks to an empty table. Shannon follows.

They both take a seat and Shannon brings her cup up to her face with both hands and smells the delicious peppermint, sighing as the smell relaxes her. “I love peppermint.”

“Yes, it is a good smell.”

The both of them sit there contentedly for a short while, allowing their tea to cool. Both of them thinking of what to say to the other.

Surprisingly, Shaun is the first to break the silence. “When you texted me earlier today, what did you want to talk about?”

“Oh, nothing… it’s just something Claire said… it’s stupid.”

“Did Claire tell you to tell me how you feel about me?” Shaun asks, deadpan.

Shocked, surprised, and a little stupefied, Shannon stumbles over her words. “Uh… um, no not really... Why?”

“Because she told me to tell you how I feel about you,” he replies, with no other explanation.

“Um… okay…?” Shannon replies, but Shaun isn’t forthcoming. Her heart is racing, but she feels so exhausted from today she’s not sure if she can handle this emotional drama any longer... She ignores her over-excited heart and sips her tea.

“I don’t know how I feel about you, so I don’t want to say anything,” Shaun replies after observing Shannon nervously sip her tea. “ _Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt_ ,” Shaun thinks to himself.

Nervous and starting to feel overwhelmed, she leaves the issue alone and changes the subject. “So what have you found out yet to help Evan Gallico?”

“Nothing yet,” Shaun replies.

“Your shift is over in another hour or so, yes?” she asks.

“Yes, but I am going to keep working. I know there’s something there.”

“Oh, okay,” Shannon replies, knowing that there would be no dissuading him anyway. “Well, I have to go, I’m exhausted from today. It seems like you have work to do…”

“Yes, I will go get back to work. Thank you for the tea,” he says, standing up from the table.

“You’re welcome. Good luck with the search,” Shannon says, picking up her things and grabbing her tea, backing away from the table.

Shaun nods and turns around, walking back to the lounge.

Shannon stands there for a moment, and turns and walks out of the hospital to head home for the night. After a couple beers, a long hot bath, and a few hours of crying, Shannon comes to the conclusion that most likely due to her outpouring of unprofessionalism and subsequent emotional breakdown at work, Shaun is not interested in her and it would be best for her, professionally, to move on quickly. She sleeps fitfully.


	13. They will be just fine on their own without me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **“Of course I’ll hurt you. Of course you’ll hurt me. Of course we will hurt each other. But this is the very condition of existence. To become spring, means accepting the risk of winter. To become presence, means accepting the risk of absence.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, _Manon Ballerina_**

The next morning, after a long, well-deserved sleep, Shannon arrives at work ready to face the new day head-on. After having dealt with yesterday’s emotional rollercoaster and having coped, nay, _dealt with_ with the idea that Shaun isn’t interested in her, Shannon decides to push forward and try her best to avoid workplace relationships altogether.

 _It’s just madness that I thought I should hang out with the doctors… They will be just fine on their own without me,_ she thinks as she sits down at the Nurses Station to begin her shift. _Shaun will be just fine; he doesn’t need a stupid nurse standing up for him. Claire will be there for him,_ she concludes. With a big sigh, she logs into the computer to read patient charts updated from the previous shifts’ nurses.

Nurse Fryday gives her orders to check on Evan Gallico’s dressing and medicine, along with the other two post-op patients in the ward. She grabs a tablet and heads to his room.

Shannon knocks on the door before entering. “Good morning, Evan? It’s Nurse Kelly,” she asks, waiting for a response.

“Come in, my parents are gone… They went to see if there’s anything good in the cafeteria. Although I already know there won’t be,” he says, a big smile on his face.

“You’re totally right,” Shannon says, laughing. “I just wanted to see how that arm is doing for you. We’ll get you ready for that surgery today.”

“Yeah, surgery,” the boy replies, not too excited about having pins in his arm.

Shannon takes a look at the bruising on his arm and checks for circulation and the state of the bandages. Being that they are dry and intact, she leaves them be. “How’s the pain?” she asks.

“I’m alright, it’s starting to get a little sore.”

“Alright then, I’ll get you some more Tylenol. One of the doctors will be in shortly to check on you before surgery.” Shannon pats him on the leg and heads out the door.

At the med cart in the hallway, she notates his chart and gets him the appropriate medication and pours a glass of water for him to take it with. She heads back in. “Knock knock,” she says, hands full. “Here ya go.” Shannon hands him the medicine.

“Thanks,” Evan says as he takes the medicine from her, putting the pills in his mouth.

Shannon hands him the water, “My pleasure.”

He drinks it and hands her back the empty cup. “Is Dr. Murphy here yet?” he asks.

Shannon can’t help but be slightly startled at the mention of Shaun. “Uhm, I’m not sure… I can check and see… Did you need something particular?”

“Ah, no, don’t worry about it. I was just curious if he was in today.”

“I think he will be. I’m sure he’ll come and check on you,” Shannon says, with a kind smile. “If you need anything, use your call button,” she says, heading out the door.

“Thanks Nurse Kelly,” Evan replies.

Shannon heads out into the hallway and moves the med cart further down the hallway. As she stops and puts the brakes on the cart, she sees Shaun heading towards Evan’s room. Shaun knocks and enters. Oddly, he closes the door behind him.

Her breath hitches for a moment, but she recovers and shakes her head. _It’s better this way,_ she says, and keeps her mind clear of Shaun and what he’s up to with Evan Gallico.

\---

“Hello Evan. It’s Dr. Murphy, how are you feeling?” Shaun says, entering the room. He closes the door behind him.

“I’m fine. Nurse Kelly was just in here and gave me more Tylenol. So tell me, why is she upset with you?”

“Shan- I mean, Nurse Kelly is upset with me? That’s not true,” Shaun replies, slowly, slightly confused. He stands at the end of the bed for a moment, thinking, shaking his head.

“Because I mentioned your name and she was startled and _perturbed_.”

“Oh. Hmmm.” Shaun says, turning away. He doesn’t offer anything more.

Evan catches the crestfallen look on Shaun’s face before he turns away. “Must be a sore subject,” the boy replies, snarkily, hoping to get a rise out of Shaun.

It doesn’t work. Shaun hums to himself as he sits down and sets up the procedure tray that he brought with him, trying his best to avoid the topic.

Noticing he’s not going to get anything from Shaun, Evan changes the subject. “What’s that for?” he asks.

“Local anesthetic for a bone marrow aspiration.”

“Why do I need a bone marrow aspiration?” Evan asks.

“My attending saw a low RBC count and wants to find the cause,” Shaun replies. He turns to the boy and says, “No biggie.”

“No biggie? You’re lying,” Evan replies, perceptively. “What’s going on? You already told me I have cancer…”

\---

Shannon finishes giving another patient their morning medicine and as she walks back out in the hallway, she hears Shaun speaking loudly from Evan’s room. She quickly walks over to see what’s going on.

“Oh my god!” the mother shouts.

“It’s okay buddy, we’re right here!” the father yells.

“Respiratory! STAT!” Shaun yells.

Shannon, right outside the door, runs in. She pounds the code blue button on the wall and puts the bed down. She notices the blood Evan is coughing up.

“Nurse Kelly, he needs a heparin drip and an aPTT - get him set up with an IV now!” Shaun takes out his stethoscope and goes to listen to the boy’s lungs.

Shannon springs into action and runs out into the hallway to grab an IV machine, IV fluid, and the heparin preparation. Just then, the Code Team rushes into the room. Shannon follows.

The other staff get Evan to relax and lay back, an oxygen mask on his face, and hooked up to the blood pressure monitor and pulse oximeter as Shannon heads around the other side of Shaun, getting the IV started in the boy’s small hand. “This is going to hurt a little, Evan, just hang in there.”

“We need a CT of the chest and a d-dimer. Get an OR ordered!” Shaun orders to the nursing staff.

Shannon gets the butterfly needle in and prepares the IV site. She draws the blood for the aPTT and flushes it with fluid. Then, she attaches the IV line.

Now hooked up to the monitor, Shaun watches the boy’s blood pressure and heart rate. “Start the heparin drip at 500 units/hour, Nurse Kelly.”

Shannon attaches the heparin drip to the IV machine and programs it. She watches to make sure it starts dripping appropriately, while Shaun watches the monitor.

“Make sure his oxygen stats stay up, I’m going to check on the imaging order and page Melendez.” Shaun steps away from the bed and Evan’s parents stop him from leaving the room.

“What’s wrong? What’s all this from,” the father asks, holding his crying wife.

“Evan has a blood clot due to the bone fracture. I am ordering testing to be done and he will most likely have surgery to remove it,” Shaun says. The father doesn’t get out of the way for Shaun to leave so he says, “I must go order the CT and get ready for surgery. Please get out of my way.”

The father, a little dumbstruck, steps back and allows Shaun to pass.

\---

After Shannon and the other nurses on the Code Team get Evan stabilized and comfortable, Shannon heads out to finish her med round. She attends to her patients and heads back to the Nurses Station to get some charting done.

Shannon opens up Evan’s chart and makes notes about her assistance to Dr. Murphy. She keeps it short now that she knows the surgical nurses are taking over getting Evan prepped for surgery. Once she finishes up the notations, she lets Nurse Fryday know that she’s taking her morning break, and heads down to the café.

Shannon orders a hot tea and a bagel with cream cheese, and takes a seat by the window. She checks her phone and enjoys her bagel while the tea cools. She decides to text her friend Alysha.

  * “Hey - you busy tonight? I have tomorrow off… I need a girl’s night”



She doesn’t get a response right away, so she checks her social media and finishes her break.

When she heads upstairs, Nurse Fryday sends her to attend to a post-op patient.

“Hello, Erica Wade?” Shannon says as she heads into her patient’s room. “I’m Nurse Kelly, I’m here to check on you…” The 34-year-old just came out of recovery from a breast mass biopsy. Dr. Andrews performed the surgery.

“Yes, I’m here,” she says.

“Hello there,” Shannon says walking in, tablet in hand. “I just wanted to check and see how you’re recovering.”

“Still a little woozy from the drugs,” the patient says. She clutches her partner’s hand.  
  
“When can we expect the biopsy results?” the young woman to the side of the bed asks.

“Yeah, it will take a couple hours for those woozies to clear out of your system. Do you feel nauseated?” Shannon asks.

“No, just kinda, out of it.”

“Yeah, that’s alright. Let us know if it gets too unbearable,” Shannon replies, standing next to the patient bed. Speaking to her partner, she says, “And to answer your question, the biopsy results might take a few more hours. The lab is exceptionally busy, but I will see what I can do to get them sooner.” She smiles at the both of them.

“Okay, thank you,” the patient replies.

“Let me check on that surgical site and I’ll let you rest,” Shannon says, putting her tablet down. She grabs some gloves and pulls back the patient’s gown and bandages. The incision looks pink, draining well, and the area is not too warm. She covers up the patient again. “Everything looks good, but let us know if you’re in pain after you come down from the other drugs.” She tosses the gloves in the trash and grabs her tablet again.

“When can I eat?” the patient gives a slight smile. “I was hungry before I went into surgery!” she says, a slight laugh.

Shannon laughs in return. “Yeah, I know what you mean! Lunch hour is coming up soon, if you’re feeling well enough I’ll put you on the list to get a meal. Dining Services will be around to speak with you and put in the order.”

“Great, thanks.”

“My pleasure. I’ll check in on those labs and update Dr. Andrews on your progress. If you need anything, use the call button,” Shannon says, smiling.

The patient nods and Shannon exits the room.

\---

A short time later, Shannon goes on her lunch break and decides to eat in the lounge instead of down at the café. She sits down and spreads out her meal; leftover tacos from the night before and some fresh veggies and ranch dressing. She goes for the veggies first, knowing the tacos will be messy, and checks her phone. Alysha had texted back.

“Yeah, want to come over? Or me come over there? We can watch movies and get drunk!” (drunk face emoji)

  * “Sounds good - my place this time. I’ll order pizza. You get the booze.”



Shannon notices the indicator telling her Alysha is typing, so she takes another carrot and dips it in ranch, snapping down on it with a loud crunch.

“I’ll be over at 7. Pepperoni and sausage please!” (winky-face emoji)

  * “See you then!”



Shannon puts her phone down and picks up one of her messy, soggy, cold tacos. “I _have_ to get better at cooking for myself…” she says to herself before taking a big bite. “Mmmmm” she sighs, enjoying the food. _Still good. Tacos are always good. Soggy or not,_ she thinks to herself as she takes another bite.

Just then, her phone goes off again. Her hands full, she leans over to look at the phone buzzing on the table. It’s Shaun calling.

 _Nuh-uh. I’m not doing this. Let me enjoy my tacos in peace,_ she thinks. After a minute or so, the phone stops buzzing. She continues eating.

As she finishes her first taco, her phone buzzes. A voicemail from Shaun. Against her better judgment, she wipes off her hands and swipes the screen to listen to the voicemail.

“Hello Shannon, it’s Shaun. I was looking for you but I can’t find you and Nurse Fryday said you were on lunch. I’m in the cafeteria, but you’re not here. Okay, bye.”

She sighs. _I don’t want to do this right now…_ she thinks. She ignores the phone call and the voicemail. She turns on some music to distract her and she picks up another taco.

In the middle of her delicious chicharron taco, Shaun walks in. “Shannon! I found you!” He walks over to stand next to her. “I left you a voicemail,” he says.

Shannon quickly tries to chew the bites of food in her mouth and puts down the taco, acutely aware of how messy the food and her face is. She nods in response, and wipes her hands and mouth with a napkin, and swallows the rest of her food. She pauses the music on her phone and replies, “Yes, Shaun, I know. I am eating, so I didn’t return your call.” Shannon isn’t terse or rude with him, just direct.

“Oh, yes. Sorry. I…” he pauses. “Mmm” he hums, thinking for a moment. He rocks back on his heels, hands clasped around his midsection. “Would you like me to come back later?” he asks.

“No, it’s fine. What do you want?” Shannon asks knowing Shaun is feeling impatient by the humming and rocking back and forth on his feet.

“Well… hmmm…” he hesitates. “Are you mad at me?” he asks.

Shannon clears her throat, a little surprised. “No, I’m not mad at you.”

“Okay.” Taking the answer at face value and seemingly relieved, Shaun takes a seat beside Shannon. “Melendez wouldn’t let me assist on Evan’s surgery.”

“Why not?” she asks plainly.

“He says I’m too close because I tried to do a bone marrow aspiration to see if Evan has Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis. It’s only a point three percent chance, but it could mean that Evan doesn’t have cancer.”

“Ah. Well, I don’t know the story well enough to judge the situation.”

“Dr. Glassman says it’s cruel giving someone false hope.”

Shannon snorts in laughter. _You have no idea of the irony behind that statement, Shaun Murphy…_

“Is that funny? What Dr. Glassman said?” Shaun asks.

“No, it’s 100% true, Shaun. So, did you just want to tell me that story?” She asks, seriously.

“Yes, well, and to see if you were mad at me. But said you are not, so I will leave you alone now.”

“Why did you think I was mad at you?” Shannon asks.

“Evan Gallico said you were _perturbed_ earlier when he spoke to you and asked me about it.”

“Evan Gallico is a thirteen-year-old boy, Shaun. And no, I am not mad. I am just acutely aware of where we stand now,” Shannon says, as emotionless as possible so as not to betray her feelings.

Shaun doesn’t quite understand what Shannon is getting at, but he also notices that her demeanor has changed and without bothering her further, he decides to leave it be. “Okay,” he replies. “Enjoy your lunch,” Shaun says, standing up and pushing in his chair. He leaves the room without another word.

Shannon sighs loudly after he leaves, not knowing her heart had been pounding. She closes her eyes and her head falls, she thinks, _my god… this is an absolute mess you’ve made, Shannon_. She starts the music again and finishes her lunch in peace.

\---

After being told she is needed on the Inpatient floor with all of the rooms full due to the number of surgeries that day, Shannon is kept busy with rounds and med passes under the auspices of Nurse Fryday.

Sitting at the Nurses Station finishing a round of charting after her most recent med pass, Shannon watches from a distance as Evan wakes up and speaks with his parents. She also notices Shaun watching from the hallway, a safe distance away from the angered parents, although Shannon isn’t privy to exactly what happened or the situation surrounding Shaun’s behavior. She hadn’t seen or spoken to him since her lunch break.

Evan’s parents head over to the Nurses Station and speak to Shannon. “Nurse Kelly, we’re heading home for a short while. It’s been a long day and we need a shower. We’ll be back soon to check on Evan before visiting hours are over for the night,” the mother replies.

“Very well. He’ll be fine here while you’re gone,” Shannon replies. “Do we have a good contact number for you on his chart?”

“Yes, there should be both of our cell phone numbers on there,” the mother replies. “Thank you.”

“Alright then, you’re welcome.” Shannon says, and looks back at her computer.

Evan’s parents leave shortly after.

Working on patient charting and preparing for the next shifts’ nurses to arrive, Shannon notices Shaun approach Evan’s bed after a short while. She doesn’t say or do anything but watches cautiously from her perch at the Nurses Station.

She tunes out what Shaun is saying, but it does register with her that Shaun is reading to Evan at his bedside. She watches the both of them, slightly in awe of the situation.

Shannon overhears Evan saying, “Sounds like a good book. Could have used a spoiler alert, though.”

And an emotional, choked-up response from Shaun, “Thank you... That’s all.” He stands up and walks away from the bed. Shaun puts a bookmark in his pocket and Shannon notices his eyes are glistening with tears.

Her heart breaks seeing him distraught like that. After a moment of weighing the pros and cons of her actions and against her better judgment, Shannon stands up from her chair and follows after him. _He was kind enough to be there for me, the least I can do is return the favor,_ she thinks, justifying breaking her promise to herself.

Shaun walks straight for the lounge area, and sits down on the bottom bunk of the beds in there, his hands clasped. Tears still threaten to fall from his eyes. He rubs his hair, attempting to comfort himself before putting his hands back in his lap, as if agitated and unsure of what he wants to do.

“Shaun, do you need help?” Shannon asks as she turns the corner into the lounge, mirroring the words Shaun had said to her the day before.

“Hmm,” a grumbled moan escapes Shaun. “No, but… mmm… Would you just sit with me for a few minutes?” he asks.

“Sure,” Shannon says, taking a seat next to him on the bed. “I’m here if you want to talk.”

Another choked-back hum escapes from Shaun’s mouth. Lost in the overwhelming feelings of remembering his brother, Shaun’s mind swims with flashbacks of smells and memories, good and bad. Tears escape his eyes and he doesn’t quite understand how to cope with the crushing weight of the sadness. His hands continue to writhe and twist together.

“Take some deep breaths, Shaun. Whatever it is that is upsetting you will pass.” She doesn’t reach out to comfort him or ask any questions of him, knowing how difficult it must be for Shaun to process emotions - whatever emotions they may be.

He follows Shannon’s orders, and does the same breathing routine as she had done yesterday. After a few minutes, it calms him, and he becomes more aware of his surroundings and that Shannon is sitting next to him.

“Thank you… for sitting here,” he says slowly, simply. His hands are still writhing, but his breaths are calm.

“You’re welcome. I’ve gotta get back to the floor though. Will you be alright?” she asks.

“Yes, I’m better now.” Eyes still raw from crying and glassy from the tears, Shaun gives Shannon a small look in what resembles an almost-smile à la Shaun Murphy.

Shannon nods in return and stands up to leave. She finishes her rounds and attends to her business before clocking out for the night. She doesn’t see Shaun and doesn’t go out of her way to find him. She figures wherever, whatever he’s doing is best for him. _Better off without me being all involved in everyone’s business…_ she thinks to herself as she leaves the hospital for the night.


	14. Why do you do this to me, Shaun?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **“We are addicted to our thoughts. We cannot change anything if we cannot change our thinking.” – Santosh Kalwar**

Shannon heads home for the evening, grabs shower, starts up one of her hangout playlists, and picks up her apartment a little before her guest arrives. Just as Shannon sits down on the couch to order pizza, the phone call to her phone comes to let Alysha in. A minute later, her friend knocks at the door.

“Come in!” she shouts, her friend letting herself in. “I was just about to order pizza!”

Alysha steps in the door and shuts it behind her, knowing that Chloe and Cassie love to explore the hallway whenever they can sneak by. She takes off her shoes and exclaims, “I brought beer and whiskey, so let’s get drunk!”

Shannon laughs and stands up from the couch, her friend already making herself at home in the kitchen, putting the grocery bags down on the countertop. “Pizza will be here in 45. Let’s start with the beer and move on to the heavy stuff…” Shannon says, approaching her friend and opening her arms for a hug. “Ugh… I’ve needed you so badly the past couple days. Thank you so much for coming over…” she says, embracing her almost-sister in a tight hug.

“I could tell. When you get quiet via texts it starts concerning me…” Alysha says with a laugh, breaking the hug. “I want to know everything you’ve been up to.” She takes off her shoes, and by the time she turns around, Shannon hands her a beer.

“Not yet. Let me get drunk and pizza’ed up first…” she laughs. She takes a swig of her beer after doing a toast with her friend. “You first. What’s happening with you.”

Alysha takes a big swig of her beer and launches off into talking about her life - dealing with work struggles, family struggles, and just about everything she can think of that has happened since they were out to the club a week or so ago.

“So are you going to quit your job and find a new place, or just constantly complain about it?” Shannon says, laughing, now finishing her second beer. Her phone rings - it’s the door. “Pizza is here!” Shannon jumps up from the couch, excited. She takes Alysha’s empty beer can from her hand and makes her get up off the couch. “I hope he’s hot…” referring to the pizza guy.

“Wai… wait a sec… I thought you were all hung up on this doctor dude from work!?” Alysha asks.

“More drinking!” Shannon says, laughing, throwing the empty cans in the recycling. The door knocks and she claps her hands, ready to answer it. She pulls it open, and smiles. The pizza _girl_ smiles back. “You’re a godsend!” she laughs. Alysha laughs behind her.

“I get that quite often!” the pizza girl laughs in reply. “Sign here for me,” she says, handing Shannon a paper and pen.

“You got it! Too bad you can’t join us…” Shannon signs her name to the receipt, sure to give a good tip on top of the already guaranteed tip that the phone app asks for. “Thanks so much,” she finishes, handing the girl the paper back.

“Another time,” she says, smiling, as she pulls the pizza out and hands it to Shannon.

“Have a good night!” she says, shutting the door behind her. “Yessssssss… Pizza!” Shannon exclaims to Alysha.

“You’re a huge dork. I seriously don’t know anyone who loves pizza more than you do…”

“It’s a part of my irresistible charm!” Shannon says, setting the pizza on the counter. “But first… we need a shot. I hope you didn’t get shitty whiskey again.”

“Hey! Don’t blame me! I thought whiskey was like wine. Anything more than $20 is pointless! And you weren’t answering your texts!”

“Whatever,” Shannon says, laughing. She pulls out some paper plates from the cabinet, and two shot glasses from another. She hands Alysha the shot glasses and whiskey, and says “Screw it. The pizza is coming with us to the living room.” She grabs two more beers and takes the pizza to the couch, sitting down next to Alysha, now spread out on the couch.

“Hurry up, I’m hungry,” Alysha says.

“Hey, this is some pretty good stuff you got!” Shannon says. “I’m surprised! You suck at picking stuff out!” They laugh at each other as Shannon pours them each a shot-glass full of a relatively well-known Irish whiskey.

“The cute guy at BevMo said it was a good whiskey for the price, so I got it. You know I don’t like the stuff… _You’re welcome…_ ” she says.

“Well you’re going to like it tonight!” Shannon says, sticking her tongue out at her friend. Lifting her glass, she toasts to ‘Making an idiot of yourself’. They both laugh and take the drink.

Alysha coughs after swallowing it, “Ughh…” she exclaims, shivering as it slides down her throat.

Shannon laughs at her. “Wash it down with some pizza!” she says, opening the pizza box to let her friend pick the first piece. Shannon pours herself another shot and downs it.

“Woah girl, something’s up,” her friend says. “Tell me.”

“Pizza first,” Shannon says. “And more booze.”

“Damn Shannon, seriously. How bad did you fuck up!?” she says, taking a huge bite of pizza.

“Bad,” is all Shannon offers before grabbing herself a piece of pizza and shoving it in her mouth. “So back to mister-mc-cheats-on-his-wife boss man… Are you going to find a new place to work!?” she asks, changing the subject.

“Maybe. I don’t know yet,” Alysha says. “I’m just glad I’m not involved in all of this shit.” She takes another bite of pizza. The both of the girls starting to feel the alcohol hit them, Alysha laughs and says, “I can see why you like this stuff so much.”

“You mean the pizza? Or the whiskey?”

“The whiskey. Damn. Let’s take another shot so I can hear this story…” Alysha says, leaning forward and placing her pizza down.

Shannon does the same and pours them each another shot. “I’m not happy about this one,” she says, picking up the shot and taking it. She puts the glass down and picks her pizza up again, taking another bite. Shannon sighs loudly before beginning her story. “Well, we went out two days ago… and it all went great.”

“Wait, you went out with this Shaun guy and didn’t tell me!?” Alysha exclaims, mockingly upset at her friend for not sharing.

“Yes, well. It wasn’t a date or anything, now that I think about it. The residents were going out and Claire invited me. We just went to a bar near the hospital.”

“More details!” Alysha demands before taking another bite of pizza.

Shannon’s sits on her plate, ignored. “No details to share really. He complimented me a couple times, I thought he was into it, and I took him home. No talking until late hours, no ‘come check out my apartment’, no goodnight ask for a 2nd date, nothing. I wasn’t bothered by it though, that’s just Shaun, and I wasn’t really expecting it either. I was just glad to spend time with him outside of work.”

“Okay, continue.”

“Well Claire was going on about how much he likes me, she must have talked to him at the bar when I wasn’t there or something, I don’t know. The next morning, big boss man - and also Shaun’s overprotective who-knows-what their relationship is - was asking about him again. I told Shaun I was bothered by it and he got upset. Probably not at me, but still…” Shannon trails off.

Alysha nods, her plate empty, too enthralled in the story to do anything about it.

Shannon continues. “Well I didn’t really get to talk to him much after that and then I had a little breakdown at work. Some poor kid came in with CF and it really got to me. Shaun helped calm me down. Well, he sat with me while I calmed down, but I think my emotions bothered him or something.” She sighs loudly, and puts her pizza down. She takes another shot before continuing, her words coming out less clear, rambling almost. “I bought him a tea before I left and we talked. Claire must have told him to tell me how he feels about me. I mean, Claire said to tell me how he feels. Whatever. So I asked him, and he said ‘I don’t know how I feel about you, so I don’t want to say anything’.” Shannon stops there and doesn’t say anything, waiting for her friend to respond.

“So he doesn’t know how he feels about you!? What’s the issue?” Alysha asks.

“Because he can’t not know how he feels about me, he just doesn’t want to say it.”

“Shannon, be real. You said this guy’s a certifiable genius and happens to be autistic. Don’t be daft. I’m not a medical professional but even I see the connections here. _He’s probably thinking seriously about it._ So tell me, what are the compliments he’s given or things that make you thinks he likes you?”

“ _Liked_ me, Alysha. Past tense.” Shannon takes a bite of her pizza.

“You think he stopped liking you because you got upset at work over a very emotional thing for you?”

“No, I… I just don’t know.”

“What did he say or do in the first place,” Alysha requests again.

“I don’t know, he said he likes it when I laugh. He was looking at me quite a bit when I looked all hot stuff in my sweater and jeans… I guess, but I don’t know what he was thinking - it’s hard to read his facial expressions sometimes. He also said it’s easy to talk to me.”

“Those are all good things, and not affected by your breakdown, so I’m just wondering - are you purposely trying to sabotage this?”

Shannon looks mock-offended. “No! I like him!”

“Well, that’s good to know you just admitted it out loud to yourself.”

“Ugh, okay fine. I like him, yes. But also, I mean… I don’t think he’s ever been in a relationship before. That’s scary in and of itself…” Shannon attempts to continue her sentence, but just then, her phone rings from over on the counter. She puts her pizza down and does a little buzzed stumble on her first step away from the couch, laughing at herself. She walks over to the bar counter and grabs her phone. “Oh holy hell…” she says, looking at her phone.

“Who is it!” Alysha says, standing up immediately, laughing at her friend, but then gets serious at the frozen look on her friends’ face.

“It’s Shaun.”

“Don’t answer! Girls night!”

“I have a feeling if I don’t answer he’s going to call back.” Shannon starts walking back over to the couch.

“Fine,” Alysha says, sitting back down with a dramatic fall.

“Hello?” Shannon says, answering.

_“Hello Shannon, it’s Shaun. I just wanted to thank you for helping me tonight. I didn’t see you after work and you said friends check in on friends to make sure they get home okay.”_

“Oh, yeah, no worries. I figured you were busy. You’re right - _friends check in on friends_ -” Shannon looks pointedly at Alysha “- but doesn’t that mean I should be the one checking up on you?”

 _“I guess that would be the case, yes.”_ Shaun stifles a small laugh. _“Well, we are both home safe, so that’s a good thing, I think.”_

“Yep.” Shannon says. Alysha watches her as she talks to Shaun, and Shannon narrows her eyes at her friend.

_“Uhm… Shannon, are you sure you’re not mad at me? Your demeanor has changed and I can’t think of why it would have… unless I did something wrong?”_

“Uhm… No, I’m not mad, I promise.”

_“Okay then. Have a good night.”_

“Yep, you too,” Shannon replies, holding the phone for a moment, before hanging up. “Fucking hell.” _God, this sucks. Why do you do this to me, Shaun?_ Shannon thinks to herself, sighing loudly.

“What’d he say!?” Alysha asks.

“He wanted to know if I got home safe because _and I quote_ \- ‘friends check in on friends to make sure they get home okay’.”

“So? He’s not wrong.”

“ _Friends_ , Alysha. It’s always just friends. He didn’t say he cares about me, he said ‘ _that’s what friends do_ ’!”

“Whatever, you’re just not picking up on the subtlety probably. At least he called! Admit it, he called you to say goodnight.”

“Whatever, eat your pizza,” Shannon says, putting her phone down on the coffee table and falling into the couch, grabbing her plate to eat her own.

“What makes you think he’s never been in a relationship before?” Alysha asks.

“One of the attendings asked him if he’d been in a relationship before and he said, ‘I almost kissed a girl once’. I’d say he hasn’t gotten a chance to kiss someone since then…”

“Damn… poor guy. College must have sucked for him.”

“Yeah probably.” Grumpy Shannon continues to eat her pizza and answer Alysha’s questions, but none of what her friend suggests gets her out of the funk she is in. The phone call didn’t make it better.

“Alright, enough!” Alysha says, picking up the beer bottles and taking them to the recycling. “Let’s do something so you’re not being miss grumpy pants at me all night. Movie!?”

“Yeah. Let’s watch Super Troopers again. Or What We Do In The Shadows. I don’t know - something to make me laugh. I’m tired of feeling like this.”

Without pressing her further, “You got it,” Alysha says. She walks back into the living room and picks up the empty pizza box and plates and takes them to the kitchen.

“Alexa, Stop,” Shannon says, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV. She pulls up ‘What We Do In The Shadows’ as Alysha walks back in and hands her a beer.

“Good choice!” Alysha laughs.

The two girls get comfortable on the couch, and in their buzzed state, laugh hysterically at the one-liners and dorky puns in the movie, chatting about the movie (having had seen it so many times before) and making fun of it. For an hour and a half, Shannon doesn’t think of Shaun at all, rather, she enjoys her time with her friend and sister.

\---

They don’t even realize the movie is over as they’re chatting away about this and that, discussing other work and personal issues. Alysha mentions something about one of the new interns at her job and thoughts of Shaun creep into Shannon’s mind again. Having been cheered up by the movie and ‘girl time’, Shannon tries to focus her energy on the good and positive things about her friendships at work.

“I know you’ve zoned out now about my boring work stuff, so that means you’re thinking of him again…” Alysha says, noticing the far-off look on Shannon’s blushing, inebriated face.

Answering wrongly, she says, “Nothing… Just thinking about stupid stuff. Did I tell you he told the President of the hospital that he was ‘waiting for farts’?" Shannon laughs out loud, not letting her friend in on the joke but oblivious to her unknowing.

Alysha laughs too.

“Yeah… He was just sitting there, contemplating and cute, with stick-up-her-ass Nurse Fryday, and Dr. Glassman walks over and he says ‘I’m waiting for farts!’” Shannon laughs hysterically, Alysha along with her.

“What did he say?”

“Who? Glassman? He’s just like, ‘that’s nice, Shaun.’” Shannon snorts out in laughter, her and her friend laughing way too hard at the situation…

“Oh man, I couldn’t do what you do… whether it involves farts or not, Shannon you’re the best.”

“Well I just started, so let’s wait a while before I earn that title.” They continue giggling at each other.

“Have you given any more thought to grad school?” Alysha asks.

“Yeah, I’ve thought about it, but I don’t really know how it will all work - full time at St. Bonaventure and also grad school? I shudder to think about it…”

“Well you already know a couple doctors, maybe you could ask them how their experience was? What’s your work girlfriend’s name again? Claire?”

“Yeah, Claire… but Med School is so much different than would be my Master’s degree…” Shannon trails off in thought. “Plus, what good would being a Family Nurse Practitioner do? I’m liking Emergency Medicine.”

“I don’t know much about it but you’ll figure it out, I’m sure,” Alysha says in support of her friend. “I’m hungry again… got any munchies?”

“Yeah, let’s raid the refrigerator and watch another movie!” Shannon says, standing up from the couch excitedly. The girls both head into the kitchen and Shannon’s cats jump up on the kitchen island. “Get down you silly girls, I know you’re not hungry…”

“Oh, they’re probably hungry…” Alysha says, laughing, petting Chloe on the head.

“I’ve got popcorn, and carrot sticks… that’s all I’ve got for munchies… it looks like I need to go grocery shopping tomorrow!” Shannon says, laughing.

“Popcorn. Make that good fresh stuff like you do… yum!” Alysha says.

“You got it!” Shannon grabs them both another beer from the fridge and the popcorn kernels from the cabinet. She grabs a small saucepan and pours in some olive oil and swishes it around until the bottom is covered. She pours in the popcorn kernels and turns on the heat, sprinkling a little salt on top, and placing the lid on top of the pot.

The girls stand there playing with Shannon’s cats until the popping starts, and the cats run off at the noise. The girls laugh and watch the popcorn popping in the pan. Once the saucepan starts to get full and the popping starts to slow, Shannon turns off the heat and swirls the popcorn around in the pan and places it back on the heat, making sure all the kernels are popped. She grabs two big bowls and pours the popcorn out into each of them.

“I want the bottom bits!” Alysha says.

Shannon laughs and hands her the second bowl. She takes the first and walks over to the couch whilst Alysha sprinkles some more salt on hers.

“What do you want to watch? Your turn to pick,” Shannon says.

“Let’s watch a Disney movie or something…” is the reply.

“Fine, as long as it’s not any lovey-dovey princess crap. I can’t handle that today,” Shannon says, with a dark laugh.

\---

The girls end up watching Big Hero 6, their popcorn bowls long having gone empty. They both yawn as they simultaneously stand up and take their dishes and empty beer bottles to the kitchen.

“I’ll take the couch, tonight. Oh dang, and here I was thinking I was getting to bed early tonight,” Shannon says sarcastically, looking at the clock. It’s 2am.

“No it’s alright, you know I’m alright on the couch. All I need is a blanket. Oh, and leave out my toothbrush for me and you can sleep in tomorrow,” Alysha replies.

“Oh, alright… that does sound good… sleeping in… _mmmmm_ …” Shannon ponders, before yawning again. She grabs a cup and fills it up with water, downing it quickly, thirsty from the alcohol.

“Go to bed. I’ll finish cleaning up. You had a long day at work, and had about 4 beers and 6 shots of whiskey… Get some rest,” her friend offers.

“You’re the best,” Shannon says, leaning into her friend for a hug. “Ugh, I knew there was a reason why I loved you…” she murmurs into the hug.

“Yeah yeah…” Alysha laughs. “Sweet dreams.”

“You get the cats tonight! Ha. ha.” Shannon laughs - she knows her cats sleep on top of and around whoever has the pleasure of falling asleep on the couch. She walks away from the kitchen. “Goodnight!”

“Night!” her friend replies.

Shannon walks straight to the bathroom, washes her face quickly, brushes her teeth and grabs a drink of water. She pulls her friend’s toothbrush in its plastic travel container from the cabinet and places it next to the sink, and heads to bed.

She sighs as she pulls back the blankets falls into bed, still in her lounge clothes, and quickly falls asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy this chapter, my dear valentines! :) 
> 
> Sorry friends, the two lovebirds still haven't gotten their sh*t together... it might be a long road.
> 
> Also, I wanted to let everyone know that I've started a [tumblr page](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/kalina-malia). Join me over there if you'd like!


	15. No wonder this was doomed from the start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **“Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings.” – Anaïs Nin**

The next morning, Shannon wakes up not to the sound of her daily alarm, but to the peaceful warm feeling of having had a nice, long sleep. She cuddles with her purring cats for a few moments before getting out of bed and having a nice, long stretch, smiling and content with the world. She doesn’t even bother checking her phone before heading into the bathroom to wash up.

Shannon makes herself a breakfast burrito and sits down in front of the tv, thankful to her best friend for having cleaned up a little before leaving earlier in the morning. Her cats jump up, eager to sniff her plate, as she turns on the mid-morning local news to catch up.

After finishing her food, she slinks back in the couch and thinks of all the things she should probably do… _Grocery shopping is a must. I should probably go to the gym. Today would be a good day to start back up again… I have to get gas…_ Shannon thinks to herself. She shuts off the TV and hops up from the couch to get her day started, _officially_ this time.

She gets ready to go to the gym and grabs her phone to check it - no missed calls or texts. She decides to text Alysha and thank her for the girls night.

  * “Thanks for everything - I had a great time last night!”



“The beast awakens! Haha I didn’t know when you’d be awake”

  * “Ha. Ha. I’m up now - gotta run some errands” (tongue-face emoji)



“How are you feeling?”

  * “I’m good. Better. Thanks!”



“Anytime” (heart emoji)

Shannon laughs to herself and grabs her things to head out the door.

\---

Shannon spends about an hour at the gym, stretching, warming up, doing some light weightlifting rounds, and a brisk walk on the treadmill. She cools down for a few minutes before toweling off and heading out to the grocery store.

She stops at the gas station first and fills up before making it to the grocery store. Nothing special is on her list, just her weekly shopping list of things she normally makes herself for lunches and dinners, with a few frozen dinners added to the mix - _Ya never know when I’ll get pulled in for a double…_ she reminds herself. She makes sure to get cat food (and treats - _god forbid you forget the treats, Shannon!_ ) and stocks up on the toiletries that she needs.

She heads straight home from the grocery store and even with large reusable bags, it takes two trips to get her groceries upstairs. _Bonus workout!_ she laughs to herself.

After putting her groceries away, she takes a much needed shower and decides to take an afternoon nap with her two girls. “Sleeping in and a nap, all in one day… Watch out girls, I might get spoiled!” She curls up in bed and falls asleep.

\---

After her nap, Shannon wakes up and makes herself dinner (a nice beef pot roast and potatoes) whilst singing and dancing around her kitchen. She packs up a few portions for lunches and then takes her meal in front of the TV again. She’s not ten minutes into her meal and breaking news interrupts the regularly scheduled programming.

“Breaking news in the South Bay - A crash in the Willow Glen area has caused a party bus to overturn - multiple injuries reported. Let’s take you over to the Sky7 Team overhead of the crash and giving live updates!”

Shannon continues eating her meal, but turns up the volume for a moment, intently listening to the helicopter reporter give updates about the crash. The entire roadway is blocked by the crash and the helicopter cameras zoom out to show the impact of the traffic backup. She finishes her meal but continues watching the news for the time being - engrossed in the live updates as if it were as enthralling as a live car chase. After a few minutes, though, the news casters hand the channel back over to their colleagues at the station, and Shannon gets up to clean the dishes.

But a few moments pass before Shannon’s phone starts ringing. She grabs it and notices that it’s the hospital calling, but she doesn’t think anything of it. “Hello, Shannon Kelly,” she says.

“Shannon, it’s Nurse Smith. I need you to get here ASAP. We have a mass-cas in the ER and it’s all hands on deck!”

“Oh! Yeah, that bus crash? I was just watching it on TV! I’ll be there in 20 minutes.”

“Thanks. See you,” Nurse Smith replies, quick to get off the phone so she can continue calling in staff.

Shannon leaves her unwashed dishes in the sink and quickly packs a lunch. Her adrenaline already pumping, she heads to her room and grabs a clean pair of scrubs and quickly changes in the bathroom, quickly pulling her still-damp hair back into a messy bun and heads for the door.

As promised, Shannon arrives at St. Bonaventure in about twenty minutes and rushes into the break room to put her things away. She grabs her stethoscope out of her locker, locks it back up quickly, and clocks in. She heads out to the ER floor and doesn’t take but a moment to be in awe of the utter chaos.

“Nurse Kelly! Assist Dr. Glassman!” Nurse Smith shouts at her from across the way.

Shannon nods and quickly jogs up to assist Dr. Glassman.

“Good evening, Nurse Kelly,” he says politely as he walks towards a gurney in the hallway.

“Hello. What can I do to assist?” She smiles and replies.

“Grab a heart monitor.”

She turns and jogs to the medical devices closet and grabs a mobile heart monitor. She turns it on and jogs back to where he’s standing.

Dr. Glassman is listening to the man’s heart, so Shannon pauses before hooking him up to it. “Go ahead, Nurse Kelly,” he says.

Shannon puts the BP cuff on the patient’s arm and the pulse oximeter on his finger. She steps back and presses a button on the machine to let it work. The blood pressure cuff fills with air and starts measuring his heart rate.

After the machine does its job, Dr. Glassman puts his stethoscope back to the man’s chest. “Your heart’s a bit muffled.”

“Am I having a heart attack?” the patient asks breathlessly.

“No, but it’s not completely good news.” Dr. Glassman turns to Shannon and says, “Cardiac tamponade.”

Shannon jogs to the supply room to grab a needle aspiration kit.

Dr. Melendez walks up and says, “He needs a pericardiocentesis.”

“Yes, I’m aware of that,” Glassman replies, a little bothered. He turns around to the end of the bed where Shannon had just placed the kit between the patient’s legs on the bed. “18-gauge and 50cc syringe, please.”

“We need a FAST ultrasound in here,” Melendez shouts down the hallway.

“They’re both in use,” Nurse Farrar replies.

“You don’t have imaging. You could puncture his heart,” Melendez complains to Glassman.

Getting annoyed, Glassman asks, “Is the xiphoid in the same place as it was 20 years ago?”

He doesn’t get a reply.

Glassman finishes sanitizing the area, and he gently places the needle in the correct position and presses it firmly into the patient’s xiphoid process. As he pulls on the syringe plunger, the patient’s pulse starts slowing as is heard on the heart monitor.

Shannon exhales a breath she didn’t realize she was holding.

Glassman starts to chuckle, and as infectious as his personality is, Shannon nervously smiles over at Melendez, who looks perturbed.

“A REBOA,” Glassman says.

“Ballsy,” Melendez replies. “Could’ve gone really wrong.”

Shannon has no idea what they’re talking about, so she stands there patiently, waiting to assist Glassman further. She keeps an eye on the heart monitor.

“Yes, well, it didn’t,” Glassman replies, looking at Melendez. He looks back down to the patient. “It’s a cowboy move - something you would never even dream of trying.” A slight pause before he continues, “How many times is Shaun going to have to prove himself before you give him a shot?”

 _Ah, of course… Something Shaun did_ , Shannon thinks. She’s piecing together the conversation from what she’s overhearing but stays silent and professional.

Melendez nods respectfully, not really sure what to say, and walks away.

Glassman smiles to himself and finishes up with the pericardiocentesis. He gently pulls the needle out of the man’s chest and places it in the tray that Shannon is holding. “Alright then,” he says to the patient. “Nurse Kelly here will get you charted and into a room as soon as one becomes available. We’ll need a follow-up ultrasound in a few hours to see that your condition has not gotten worse, so hang tight.” He takes off his gloves, and instructs, “Let’s do a normal workup of that cardiocentesis fluid, too.” He nods to Shannon, and walks away.

She nods in reply to Glassman’s instructions. “Yes, hello. Let’s get you out of this hallway,” Shannon says to the patient, not even sure of the patient’s name as she hasn’t had a chance to take a look at a chart, if there is one. She picks up the syringe from the tray and removes the needle, putting it in a needles box on the nearby wall, and shouts to Nurse Smith, “Do we have an open bay for observation?”

“Take him to bay three!” is the reply.

“Alright, we’ve got a place for you to stay,” Shannon says, smiling at the patient. “Let’s try to get you comfortable.”

Shannon pushes the gurney into bay three which is down the other side of the hallway, and she pulls the curtains back so the patient can have some privacy. She gets the patient’s medical chart started, his labs and ultrasound ordered, and gives him some pain meds. Before she heads back out to assist Dr. Glassman, Shannon arranges for a patient intake specialist to come arrange the rest of his chart and to get paperwork signed and for a nursing assistant to come and help him get changed into a gown and make him comfortable. She heads back out into the hallway, charting as she goes, looking for Dr. Glassman.

She spots him heading towards another patient, this one a woman in a wheelchair. She jogs ahead to catch up with him. “Yes, Nurse Kelly,” he says, spotting her, “Assist with the charting!”

The both of them reach the patient who was wheeled in by a nursing assistant. The woman is bleeding from the head, looks like a large gash near her temple. Glassman kneels down and asks the patient some simple questions. “Hello. What’s your name?”

“Selena Martinez,” she replies, a scared look on her face, and she’s shivering.

“Selena, how old are you?”

“I’m...uh… 30,” is the reply.

Shannon keeps up with him by typing notes on her tablet.

“Do you know what day it is?” he asks.

“Yes, it’s, uh Saturday. September 24th.”

“Very good. Now look straight ahead for me,” he says, pointing a pen light in her eyes looking for appropriate pupillary reflex. “Good, do you have any dizziness?” he asks as he presses his thumbs on the woman’s cheeks, then her forehead.

“No, my head hurts.”

“Yeah, I’d say so,” he says, smiling. “Do you feel nauseated?”

“No,” she replies, meekly.

“Anything other than your head hurting?”

“No.”

“Alright, Nurse Kelly, let’s order a head CT just in case, but we can get that gash stitched up for her and some pain meds,” Glassman orders.

Shannon finishes typing her notes and she nods at Dr. Glassman before taking her new patient down the hall to see if there’s an open bed. Unable to find one, she makes sure the patient is as comfortable as possible for the wait. While waiting, Shannon gets the patient’s chart set up on her tablet, and luckily, they don’t have to wait for long. Some beds open up on the inpatient floor, so Shannon takes her patient up there.

She helps the patient get into the bed and gets one of the inpatient nurses to continue attending to her and letting them take over the chart. She instructs them to put in the order for the head CT and have someone stitch her up. Then, she heads back down to assist Dr. Glassman if needed.

Shannon checks her watch. _It’s 10pm already, damn… time flies, I guess_ , she thinks to herself.

\---

After assisting two more yellow-tagged patients with Dr. Glassman, Shannon takes a well-deserved break. She grabs an iced tea from the cafeteria vending machine, not used to the café being closed. She sighs loudly as she puts her feet up for a moment at one of the chairs in the quiet cafeteria area. _Damn… this is crazy!_

She checks her phone - it’s now well past midnight. She meant to call Alysha and chat with her but lost track of time over the course of the evening. _So glad I had that nap earlier,_ she thinks, before taking a minute to close her eyes and come down from the adrenaline that had been coursing through her veins all evening.

After another couple minutes of quiet contemplation, she heaves a sigh and gets up from her seat, heading back to the nursing floor.

As she heads back, she notices Melendez and Shaun walking towards the waiting area. _That’s the first time I’ve seen him tonight,_ she thinks. She shakes her head and continues walking back towards the floor.

\---

A little while later, Shannon is seated at the ER Nurses Station doing some charting when Dr. Glassman walks up. “Bay five needs a grade three hyphema.”

Grabbing the chart he’s holding, Nurse Farrar responds, “Head CT and page ophthalmology?”

“You read my mind,” he replies.

Dr. Andrews walks up, patting Nurse Farrar on the shoulder. “Been a while. How you holding up, pulling an all-nighter?” he asks Dr. Glassman.

He crinkles up in disgust at the cup of coffee he’s drinking. “I’ll manage, but if you can find me a caffeine IV, it’d be helpful...”

Just then, he’s interrupted by Shaun running towards the Nurses Station. “Please move!” he shouts, running towards a computer.

Shannon, not really paying attention to the conversation around her looks up from her computer at his shouting. She watches as he tries, and fails, to get a seat at one of the computers. She barely registers Melendez and Jessica talking to Dr. Lim and Nurse Farrar.

Shaun looks upset as he wanders around and looks at what the other staff members are working on. He notices Shannon not working, but looking rather sheepishly at him, so he walks over.

She notices him notice, and she immediately turns around and gets back to work.

He stands over her for a second. It seems as if he wants to say something, but he doesn’t.

She overhears Dr. Glassman say, “Dr. Lim, I think one of your yellows is about to turn red.” She looks back at Shaun, still standing there, waiting for a computer to open up, his hands writhing over his waist.

Nurse Farrar continues the conversation - whatever it was that Shannon didn’t pay attention to as she was attending to the closeness of Shaun over her shoulder - and she says, “I’ve got my wedding all planned out. I’ve got the dress and I’ve got the flowers. All I need is a groom.”

Glassman looks away awkwardly.

“You available Dr. Murphy?” Nurse Farrar asks loudly.

“No,” he replies simply. He turns back towards their conversation a little.

“You don’t want some love?” she asks him.

“No. No, I don’t. I don’t want love,” he replies. Frustrated he stomps off out of the Nurses Station.

Shannon’s heart drops into her stomach. Sitting there for a moment silently, she can’t really think what would be more upsetting to him, the lack of an available computer, or not wanting love. And the more she thinks about it, the more she realizes she knows absolutely nothing about Shaun Murphy. _He doesn’t want love. No wonder this was doomed from the start…_ she thinks. She sighs loudly to herself and gets back into her charting.

\---

After a little while later and assisting Dr. Glassman with his neuro consults - mostly head injuries - Shannon takes a well-deserved lunch break.

About ten minutes into her lunch break, she spots Shaun over at the cafeteria checkout, now open for breakfast, but decides not to get his attention. That doesn’t matter for long though, because he spots her and heads over to her table. “May I sit here?” he asks, moving his tray towards her, motioning to sit across from her.

“Sure,” she says with a smile.

“I made a REBOA!” he exclaims as he sits down at the table and takes the napkin off of his silverware.

“Yes, I heard. But what is it? I’ve never heard of it…”

“A Resuscitative Endovascular Balloon Occlusion of the Aorta, REBOA. Except it wasn’t in his aorta, it was in his femoral artery!” Shaun looks excitedly at Shannon.

“Wow, you mean you _made_ one? How did you handle that?” she asks, interested.

“I made it with a urinary catheter, arterial guide wire and an occlusion balloon.” He takes a bite of his sandwich.

“You’re a real MacGyver, aren’t you!?” Shannon replies, impressed.

Shaun laughs in a sudden, barking tone. “MacGyver, yeah,” he laughs.

Shannon smiles at his reaction. She takes another bite of her pasta salad. They sit in silence for a moment or two.

Shaun looks up from his plate and says, “Claire and I are making a femur.”

“Oh?” Shannon asks. “And how does one make a femur?”

“Well, the 3-D printer is making it. Out of titanium.”

“Wow, that’s impressive. You two make quite the team!” she replies.

“Yes, I think so,” Shaun says.

They sit for a few minutes in silence, just sitting there in each other’s company. Shaun seems as if he has something to say but doesn’t quite know how to broach the subject. Shannon seems a little more nervous than usual, and she notices that Shaun is trying to say something, but nervous as to what that is, Shannon keeps her mouth shut. She offers him a smile every once in a while to reassure him, but other than that, the two of them mostly stay silent for the rest of their break.

After about 10 minutes of this, Shannon declares that she has to get back to the floor. “Thanks for having lunch with me Shaun. I’ve gotta get back.” She packs up the dishes and utensils she used in her lunch bag.

“Yes. Thank you, I mean, you’re welcome,” he replies.

“See you around,” she says as she steps back from the table.

“See you around,” Shaun replies.


	16. Baby steps, Shannon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **“A guy and a girl can be just friends, but at one point or another, they will fall for each other… Maybe temporarily, maybe at the wrong time, maybe too late, or maybe forever.” – Dave Matthews Band**

Shannon heads back to the ER room floor to check in on her and Dr. Glassman’s patients. Her first stop is Mr. Jackson with the pericardiocentesis.

“Knock knock, Mr. Jackson,” Shannon says as she walks towards the fabric privacy curtain, tablet in hand.

“Who’s there?” he asks, making a joke of Shannon’s entry.

“Nurse Kelly…”

“Nurse Kelly who?” he laughs gently.

Shannon laughs in return. “How are you feeling?” she says, walking up to the cardiac monitor. It continues to beep away as she goes back and forth between the monitor and entering information on the tablet.

“It hurts, but I think I’ll live…” the patient replies.

“It hurts still?” she asks, a little confused.

“Yeah. I feel a little nauseated.”

“Hmmm…” Shannon hums, pondering. _The amount of morphine he’s gotten already should have taken care of that,_ she thinks to herself. She sets the tablet down and presses a few buttons on the monitor to look at the history of blood pressures listed. Then, she steps over to Mr. Jackson and listens to his heart, just as the blood pressure cuff fills up with air again, about to have another go at measuring his blood pressure. She removes the stethoscope from his chest as she lets the cuff do its job. Moments later, alarms start going off.

Mr. Jackson groans before he passes out, the blood pressure having gone dangerously low, Shannon smacks the code blue button on the wall and overhead, a pre-recorded voice calls out, “Code Blue to Bay Three, Code Blue to Bay Three.”

Shannon lays the bed back so the patient lies flat, and she puts her stethoscope back on his heart. Just then, the code team rushes in with their emergency cart, Melendez right behind them.

“What’ve you got Nurse Kelly?” he shouts as he reaches his hand out for her to hand over her stethoscope.

“He’s having a heart attack. Passed out only moments ago. BP is 80/40.” She grabs her tablet and reads off from his chart. “The EKG was negative earlier. Troponin results were also negative at his first draw after the pericardiocentesis. No history of cardiomyopathy, but a history of hypercholesterolemia, currently being treated with statins. No other contraindications.” She pauses and waits for him to bark further orders.

“Let’s get him to the cath lab. I want another EKG, a CBC, a CK panel, and a chest CT with contrast,” Melendez says. “STAT!”

The code team gets to work, picking up the blankets from hanging off the bed, making sure the side rails are locked, and releasing the brakes from the wheels of the bed.

“Should I page Dr. Glassman?” Shannon asks as she removes the BP cuff from the patient’s arm and gets out of the way of the code team.

They pull back the curtain roughly and push the bed out into the hallway.

“No, not necessary,” Melendez replies before following the patient out of the med bay.

Shannon sighs and shakes her head as she’s left there in an empty med bay. She looks at her tablet again and makes a quick note on the tablet, and walks back out into the hallway.

\---

Shannon is gathering supplies to replenish a med cart, her arms full, when she turns around and abruptly steps out into the hallway and runs full-bodied into Shaun. “Lord Jesus!” she shouts, surprised, almost spilling the supplies in her hand.

Shaun’s hands instinctively grab her arms to steady her, but then he quickly steps back, head down, hands clasped. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to surprise you,” he says, bashfully.

“It’s okay,” she sighs, exasperated. “You scared the shit out of me!” she laughs at herself, trying to diffuse Shaun’s nervousness. “What’s up?” She sidesteps him and moves to the front of the med cart, depositing her arms full of supplies.

“Why would a family want to amputate their child’s leg, rather than have a chance to save it?” he asks firmly.

Shannon looks at Shaun for a moment, her hand on her hip as she tries to read his expression. She notices the muscles in his face are a little tight which means he’s upset. “I’m not sure Shaun. What’s the surgical risk?”

Shaun starts on his version of a rant. Tersely, he explains. “There’s only a 10% chance that the patient won’t make it, but the parents don’t want the surgery because this will be the first surgery of its kind. They should feel honored to be the first to do this surgery, and there is a high likelihood that the patient will recover with full function in his leg…”

Before he continues on, Shannon interrupts him. “Shaun, there could be any number of reasons why the family doesn’t want the surgery. That’s up to them, and we can’t make decisions for families…” Shannon continues as if speaking to herself, “although I wonder if they know that every surgery has estimated risks involved…” her inner student coming out to play. “Oh, sorry,” She says, looking at Shaun who is patiently waiting for her to finish.

“Families should not be able to make decisions when they are making the _wrong_ decision.”

“Maybe, but whether you think that is the _wrong_ decision, Shaun Murphy, isn’t up to you. It’s the law.”

Frustrated, Shaun abruptly turns and walks away.

Exasperated Shannon replies to Shaun’s back, “You’re welcome!!” She sighs and grabs some plastic dosage cups to put in the med cart. _He needs a firm talking-to. Walking away from someone isn’t acceptable, no matter how genius he is._

\---

After finishing restocking her third med cart as she’s about to stock another, Claire walks up to Shannon. “Shannon, Can I get your help with one of my patients? Need to remove a vent tube.”

“Yes, please! Something helpful!” Shannon pleads, laughing. She grabs a pair of gloves and shoves them in her pocket, noticing Claire’s urgency as she walks by.

They speed-walk to the patient room two hallways over from the ER. Claire knocks on the door but enters immediately - the patient having recently woken up from unconsciousness. “Hello, I’m Dr. Claire Brown.” She snaps her gloves on and heads straight to the patient’s bedside.

Shannon quickly opens the patient’s chart on her tablet while Claire gets to work.

“You were in a car accident, your neck was punctured. The repair surgery went well. You’re gonna have to stay put for a week before we can release you,” Claire says, working to get the breathing tube removed from the patient’s mouth.

Shannon looks up from her notes to notice the patient struggling a little, impatient. While not unusual, Shannon keeps her eyes on the patient for signs of spasming or distress while Claire’s hands work quickly.

“You’re very lucky to be alive,” Claire says.

Shannon nods demurely and smiles at the patient.

The patient coughs as Claire gently removes the tubing device over the patient’s mouth. Hoarsely, she says, “My wife… Jenna Hensel… is she okay? Can I see her?”

Shannon grows concerned, she hasn’t seen that name in her charting or up on the wall. Dread grips her - she hopes Jenna wasn’t one of the poor souls that was dead on arrival.

Claire looks over to Shannon, and Shannon hands her a clipboard from the end of the bed. Shannon goes back to checking medical charts on her tablet, looking for that name.

“She’s not listed,” Claire says, skimming through the schedule of patients from the crash. “That’s a good thing - she’s probably still in the waiting room. I’ll find her and bring her up. She’ll be relieved to know you’re okay.”

Shannon’s breath hitches, knowing this might not be the case. _Funny_ , she thinks, _Claire’s a ‘cup is half full’ kinda girl, but I never considered myself to be a pessimist..._

“Okay,” the patient replies and looks up at Shannon, who can’t do anything but give a small smile back, hoping for the best.

Claire and Shannon finish up with the patient and they step out into the hallway. “I never thought I’d be a pessimist, but something’s gotten into me today,” Shannon says, sighing.

“Hey, maybe our resident realist Dr. Shaun is rubbing off on you,” Claire says, nudging Shannon in the arm, trying to cheer her up. “Do me a favor and go find Jenna Hensel for me?” Claire asks.

“Sure thing,” Shannon replies, giving Claire a half smile. She heads off towards the waiting room to see if Claire’s instincts were right. Her gut, however, disagreed with Claire’s assumption.

She heads out to the emergency waiting area. She walks up to a woman waiting alone, frantically texting on her phone. It seems the woman has an abrasion on her arm. “Hi, I’m Nurse Shannon Kelly. Do you happen to be Jenna Hensel?” she asks with a kind smile.

The woman sighs loudly in disgust and looks up at Shannon. “No, I’m not. I’ve been here for over an hour and you’re the first person to come talk to me. When will I be seen?” she says, impatiently.

“I’m sorry,” Shannon says, “We’ve got critical patients still. As soon as a bed opens up, we’ll get you seen. You can always check with the triage nurses,” She turns around and points to the desk by the ER, “to see if you’re next. Thanks.” Shannon quickly walks away as the woman goes back to texting on her phone, sighing in disgust.

About five minutes later, Claire walks up to Shannon, who just got done with a similar conversation with another woman tired of waiting to be seen. She sighs as she watches Claire walk up to her. “Nothing yet, I’m afraid.”

Claire sighs. “I’m getting worried. She wasn’t one of the patients in the morgue, and she’s not in our records. Have you talked to all the women here?” she asks Shannon.

Shannon turns and tilts her head in the direction of two women sitting next to each other back in the corner of the waiting room. “They’re the only ones I haven’t spoken to. I’m getting worried, too.”

Claire nods at Shannon and heads over to the women. She nervously walks up to them. “Hey, are either of you Jenna Hensel?” Claire asks.

Shannon steps up beside her.

The blonde woman speaks first, “I haven’t seen Jenna since we took pictures at the hotel.”

Claire asks, “But she got on the bus?”

The other woman speaks up this time, “Yeah, she was sitting with Noomi.”

Claire looks back down to her chart, and Shannon looks concernedly over her shoulder. Claire looks back at Shannon, her eyebrows hitched in concern and slight confusion. “I think she’s still out there.”

Shannon lets out a small gasp.

Claire shouts to the two medics standing behind the women. “Hey guys, we’ve gotta go back!”

“Where?” one of them asks.

“To the crash site. Now!!! Shannon, you’re coming with me!” Claire exclaims as she starts to jog off towards the ambulance bay.

\---

Shaun double-times it down the hallway towards the Nurses Station. “Where’s Shann- I mean Nurse Kelly!” he exclaims as he arrives, nearly out of breath.

Glassman and Lim are at computers, nurses surrounding them on other terminals. They all look up in unison.

“I don’t know Shaun, why?” Glassman speaks up, concerned.

Nurse Fryday steps forward, “She just paged me - her and Dr. Browne have headed back out into the field, they believe there are still patients at the crash scene.”

Exasperated, Shaun lets out a slight growl, his hands writhing together, and sets off in the opposite direction from whence he came.

Glassman and Lim exchange a look and Glassman stands up to head towards Shaun. “Shaun, wait up!” he states, trying to slow Shaun’s determined pace towards the ambulance bay.

“No, I need to find Nurse Kelly!” he near-shouts backwards.

Glassman continues on after him, concerned for Shaun, noticing his tensed shoulders as he speeds down the hallway in front of him.

As Shaun reaches the exterior doors, he leans forward, pushing them with a hint of aggression.

“Shannon! Are you out here?” Shaun says, shouting. He walks up to one of the ambulances and notices the back empty, moving on to the next as two medics look up in confusion.

Glassman goes to grab Shaun’s arm but prevents himself from doing so. He uses his voice instead. “Shaun, what’s going on!?”

“Nothing. I need to speak with her.” He starts to move away to look in another ambulance.

“Calm down Shaun, she’s with Claire. What’s going on, really?”

Hesitating momentarily, Shaun spills forth his thoughts, hands writhing. “The judge will want me to talk to the family about the procedure. But I don’t know what to say. They are wrong. The man should get the femur.”

“What? Is this about the titanium femur?” Glassman pauses, his expression softening now he knows that someone isn’t in danger. “You need to be truthful and frank, Shaun, you know this.”

“Yes… hmmm…” Shaun says, lost in his thoughts.

“There’s nothing you can do, but you’d better be nearby when the judge needs to speak with you. Go back upstairs and be with Dr. Melendez.”

Placated - temporarily - Shaun grunts and walks purposefully back towards his patient.

Glassman wonders why exactly Shaun got all worked up. A little jealous, he wonders why Shaun didn’t come to him first.

\---

Sirens blaring, the ambulance pulls up to the scene of the horrific crash, still being cleared away by police, fire, and tow trucks. _Surreal_ , Shannon thinks. _Seeing this in person is way worse than on the TV…_

“Okay, get the cops. Check everywhere - other side of the road, bushes, trees,” Claire shouts impatiently, backing up towards the treeline. “If she was ejected from the bus she could be 40, 50 feet in any direction.”

Shannon runs directly parallel to the ambulance as Claire and the medics head in separate directions. She slaps her flashlight smartly because it was flickering… _That’s better_ , she thinks, the solid Maglite a torch in the forest at this time of the evening.

She frantically searches with the flashlight and calls out, “Jenna? Jenna Hensel?” in the darkness.

“Jenna!” Claire shouts. Only a minute or two passes when Shannon hears, “I found her! I need some help!” The medics get to Claire first and she shouts, “Okay, she’s got a brain bleed. We need to get her out of here now!”

Shannon rushes over to the scene where Claire and the medics are already caring for the patient lying on the ground. _It doesn’t look good_ , she thinks to herself. Just then, Shannon’s phone buzzes at her - it’s Shaun.

  * I came to look for you at the Nurses Station but you were already gone. I had to go speak with the judge. The patient is getting the titanium femur. Since I can’t talk to you, I thought you’d want to know, because I would want to know.



All Shannon could do was text back, “Okay, thanks for letting me know.” By the time she looks back down to the patient, Claire is staring at her, accusingly, and she quickly shoves her phone back in her pocket and moves out of the way so the medics can carry the gurney past her. “Sorry,” she silently whispers at Claire for being distracted.

Claire nods at Shannon as she walks by. “Shaun?”

“Yep,” Shannon replies. She can feel Claire’s smirk from the back of her head as they keep climbing up the hill towards the ambulance.

\---

“Shaun,” Shannon says, firmly, walking up behind him charting at the Nurses Station in the ER. For once, Shannon is able to surprise him - he jumps slightly. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Can I speak to you in the break room, please?” she says firmly.

“Ye-Yes…” he says, turning around to greet her.

She immediately starts walking in that direction.

He hurries to catch up after her. One of the nurses gives him a sidelong look, but he doesn’t notice.

Shannon reaches the break room and pushes the door open, holding it open for Shaun. Her hands held out as if to escort him through the doorway.

He notices a tense look on her face, and submissively enters the room, his head bobbing.

She doesn’t hesitate to follow him and let the door close behind her with a snap. “Shaun. I’m confused.”

“What are you confused about, Shannon?”

“I’m confused at you. You’re a completely competent doctor, but at every turn you’re texting me or frantically trying to get my advice, second-guessing yourself.”

Shaun doesn’t reply, but rather shifts nervously on his feet, hands wringing.

“There’s more to being a doctor than just medical knowledge, you know this. And I have complete faith in you. But I don’t think I quite understand where _we_ stand, Shaun.”

“What do you mean?” Shaun asks, a confused look on his face, head tilted slightly.

“Are you pulling me into your cases and asking for my advice because you need advice, or because you’re trying to find something to talk to me about?” Shannon stands calmly, searching his face for an answer.

“Now I think _I’m_ confused, Shannon. I am trying to ask for your advice _and_ talk to you about it,” he replies, truthfully.

Shannon sighs. Her heart pounds against her chest and she swears she thinks Shaun can hear it - she didn’t think this would be easy but she had no idea… “Shaun, are you making ‘small talk’ with me because you are trying to be friendly or more-than-friendly, or do you just need someone, _anyone_ to talk to?” She asks, using her fingers for air quotes to add emphasis.

“Are you asking me to define our relationship?” Shaun asks, nonplussed. His hands wring together around his waist.

“Yes, Shaun. I don’t feel qualified to give you advice and sometimes it makes me feel a little nervous - _you’re the doctor after all!_ But if you want my advice because you have feelings for me, then that makes sense - you’re trying to connect with me in ways that make sense to you.” Shannon bares her heart, and steels herself awaiting a response, grabbing her arms for an unconscious hug.

“I - I don’t know.”

Shannon waits patiently for almost a minute, noticing Shaun’s mental gears working, but finally, she breaks the silence. “That’s it? Just ‘I don’t know’?”

“Yes. I don’t know.” He looks almost sad.

Just then, a page over the intercom interrupts them. “Paging Dr. Murphy. Paging Dr. Murphy - you’re needed in OR Three.”

“Ah, saved by the bell, Dr. Murphy!” Shannon nervously laughs. “This conversation isn’t over. Please, we need to talk about this more, privately.” She gives him a small smile as he backs away from her and out the door.

He nods in response and then he’s gone.

Shannon heaves a huge sigh - attempting to release the tension inside her chest from the anxiety of it all. _Well that went as well as could be expected… Baby steps, Shannon_ , she thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the long hiatus but I have not abandoned this fic - I've just had many other things keeping me away from it. I won't be updating regularly, but I will keep working on it sporadically.
> 
> The break between S1 and S2 has also given me some direction about how this is going to play out, so stick around and see what happens!
> 
> Thanks for your support!


End file.
